So, I originally read this entire series in August 2010. And I liked them well enough. But I didn’t love them. Then, during Chachic’s Queen’s Thief week, I read this post by Angie of Angieville bibliovangelizing the series. It was then I knew that I had to reread the whole thing. Well, at least, re-experience it, because I discovered that my squee local library had all four books on audio. Done and done.

And this second time around, I was, well, enchanted. The stories came together better for me. I was caught up in this delightful world. (I even made excuses to run errands and go for drives so I could keep listening in the car.) I laughed and gasped and cried. I think Megan Whalen Turner managed to hit just about every note right:

The characters. Absolutely my favorite part of this series is the characters. Gen. Attolia. Sophis. Eddis. The magus. Costis. Everyone is dear to me, especially Gen and Sophos. They are so real. And nuanced. I’m semi-speechless about them, hence all of the periods.

The world. I’ve never been anywhere like Attolia, Eddis, and Sounis, but I feel like I have. Turner is extremely adept at brining the reader into the story, into the world, without calling attention to the fact that we are in a fantasy world. The mechanisms, customs, geography, and gods are all set forth fully, but with ease. So you don’t feel like you’re reading a history book or tons of exposition. As an added bonus, it’s just a delightful place to be.

The plots. One of the delightful (and almost frustrating) things about this series the first time around was that I was always one step behind the plot. The characters were so much smarter than me. And I often had to struggle to keep up with them, especially Gen, and I felt almost betrayed that so much information was kept from me. But, that is where the story began to shine in the rereading (or relistening). I knew what was going to happen. But the story was almost more engaging that way. It’s so deftly plotted that I had almost as much fun seeing how the characters got to certain plot points as I did in the plot points themselves.

The writing. This pretty much goes without saying after the rest of the elements, but the writing is really strong. It’s one of my favorite kinds of writing, well done but subtle. It doesn’t call attention to itself by saying “Here I am! I’m good writing!” It lets you figure that out yourself.

This is a series that I will come back to again. I can’t wait to read them together with my daughter. You should definitely read them. And reread them. And here’s hoping there will someday be a fifth book.

Oh, and a note on the audio versions. The same narrator, Jeff Woodman, did all four books. I thought he did a fantastic job. I also thought the audiobooks were formatted well, with disc numbers announced and short track times that made it easier for me to keep track of where I was.

The Queen’s Thief Series, by Megan Whalen Turner (Audio)

Have you read or reviewed this book too? Feel free to jump in with your thoughts or leave a link to your review in the comments.

Title: The Day the World Ends
Author: Ethan Coen
Pages: 128
Originally Published: 2012
Publisher: Crown Publishing Group (Random House)

____________________________

My brother, of Bitchin’ Film Reviews, is a movie blogger. So, when I had the opportunity to review the poetry collection of filmmaker Ethan Coen (of the Coen brothers), he agreed to do a guest review. His review appears below.

Attaining a certain level of success in one’s chosen field occasionally gives one the freedom to try their hand at other crafts. Tom Ford took a break from fashion to direct Colin Firth in A Single Man. Madonna apparently writes books for children. And Bjork stops her full-time career of being weird to put out an album every now and then. These efforts are always met with a varying degree of success. While I am a fan of A Single Man, I couldn’t stomach the one book of Madonna’s I tried to read. Ethan Coen, brother and co-director to Joel, has enjoyed a very successful film career, and now has tried his hand at poetry, by releasing The Day the World Ends, 120 pages of poetry and extremely dirty limericks.

There are admittedly very few poetry books on my shelves. My exposure to the genre is limited to two undergrad courses of Russian classic poetry and a childhood spent listening to Shel Silverstein’s books read aloud. That being said, I am not the biggest fan of Mr. Coen’s poetry. There are exceptions, of course. One in particular is a rambling two page ode to a woman endowed with a sizable rear end, and one Ethan takes great pleasure in worshiping with his words. An excerpt:

Oh yes you have a whole lot of ass, woman,
Oh big-ass woman,
And you sling it down the street walking, walking your ass, your
own ass and no one else’s?
And it rolls and thuds along, twin crumpling beach balls,
clomping rear tires,
Flip-flopping ass, walk-slamming ass, wham-bam ass pile-driving . . .

I’ll admit, There’s a pleasing rhythm there, a playful way with his words. I enjoyed giving an enthusiastic reading of it to my sister and brother-in-law. And, yes, it’s funny.

Then there are those poems that seem to have no clear meaning and seem to be of no consequence at all. Here’s one in its entirety called “But, Why?”:

You stand without
To look within;
To come home, leave;
To end, begin.

It’s pleasant enough, but indicative of how inconsequential the whole collection felt to me. The Day the World Ends might be appreciated as something to lay around on the coffee table of a home with no children (serious, if you think The Big Lebowski had rough language, peruse his limericks section). However, I think it’s safe to recommend Ethan keep his day job.

As you probably know, I live in Utah, as do many talented book bloggers and authors.  It’s a very active book community, and we have long discussed ways to celebrate it.  What we’ve come up with is Utah Book Month. It began as the brain child of Natasha from Maw Books Blog (as Utah Author Month) and is now being organized by Suey from It’s All About Books, Penelope from The Reading Fever, Emily from Emily’s Reading Room, Enna from Squeaky Books, and, of course, me!

This August will be the first annual Utah Book Month.  During the month we’ll be organizing and hosting a number of events, including a challenge to read and review books by Utah authors during the month, mini-challenges, Utah-blogger to Utah-blogger interviews, Utah-author interviews, and more. And we’d love for you to join us!

Here’s what you need to know before you sign-up:

• The deadline to sign up is 11:59 p.m. on May 21, 2012.
• We will be coordinating all of the events, so once you fill out the form, all you have to do is wait to hear from us.
• The earlier you sign up, the better your chances of getting your preferred activity.
• Utah authors, Utah book bloggers, and non-Utah book bloggers are invited to particpate.
• You only need to sign-up once. The same form appears on all of the organizers’ blogs and will go to the same place.

Title: The Power of Habit
Author: Charles Duhigg
Pages: 302
Originally Published: 2012
Format I Read: Adobe Digital Edition (via Netgalley)
Publisher: Random House
Rating:

____________________________

While I usually eschew books with any sheen of self-help about them, I could not resist the very title of The Power of Habit. Habits are something I am constantly trying to cultivate or break. And, understanding more about them would only help me in those endeavors, right?

Right. The Power of Habit examines habits and how they work through the lens of a startling array of topics, from marketing Febreeze to habitual gambling, from night terrors to Target’s consumer tracking algorithms, from brain damage to Starbucks’s training program, and from Alcoholic’s Anonymous to Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church. In addition to the numerous topics and case studies, the book also examines habits in three different areas: the habits of individuals, the habits of successful organizations, and the habits of societies.

In all, I found it to be a fascinating read. Charles Duhigg is a business reporter for The New York Times, but his writing reads more like a columnist’s or an essayist’s. And the information presented it just downright interesting. I mean, Target can identify pregnant women, who haven’t told anyone let alone Target, just by tracking what they buy. Several black individuals were arrested for refusing to give up their seats to white passengers in the weeks and months leading up to Rosa Parks’s arrest, but the reason her arrest was the catalyst for starting an entire movement can be explained, at least in part, by habits. Febreeze was unmarketable, until researchers noticed one small habit people have after cleaning a room.

Here are some of the things that I will take away from The Power of Habit:

• Once we identify something as a habit, we have the power to change it.
• Companies will do almost anything to get us to buy their stuff.
• Keystone habits (such as making our beds, exercising, and having family dinners) seep over into other areas and change other habits.
• Habits have three parts: a cue, a routine, and a reward.

I will say that it felt a little disjointed at times, in that some of the stories and case studies had a somewhat tenuous link to habits. And, I expected this to be a self-help book. I mean, a book about habits to going to tell you how to make or change your habits, right? Nope. Not this book. In fact, I got all of the way to the end of the book and then I read the appendix, which contains this helpful explanation:

Individuals and habits are all different, and so the specifics of diagnosing and changing the patterns in our lives differ from person to person and behavior to behavior. Giving up cigarettes is different from how you prioritize tasks at work. What’s more, each person’s habits are driven by different cravings.

As a result, this book doesn’t contain one prescription. Rather, I hoped to deliver something else: a framework for understanding how habits work and a guide to experimenting with how they might change. (220)

And with that simple statement, my experience with the whole book changed. I wish the note had come at the beginning, in an author’s note or introduction, because then I would have simply enjoyed the case studies instead of waiting and expecting the instruction to begin. So, that’s my advice. Read this book. But read it as a sociology book that presents information from which you can glean information to apply to your life, rather than as a self-help book that will give you a tidy little formula on changing your habits.

The Power of Habit, by Charles Duhigg

Have you read or reviewed this book too? Feel free to jump in with your thoughts or leave a link to your review in the comments.

Sadly, I fell WAY behind on my 2011 reviews. So, I’ve been posting mini reviews to help catch up. This is the last round! Check out round one, round two, and round three, if you like. Though all of these books deserve their own posts, this will have to do.

The Wednesday Wars, by Gary D. Schmidt

Rating:

On Wednesday afternoons, when the rest of his Jewish and Catholic classmates attend religious classes, Holling Hoodhood, the lone Presbyterian seventh-grader, is left with Mrs. Baker, and the experience is challenging for them both. This book made me want to read Shakespeare! The writing is superb, and it felt very realistic. It takes place in 1967, and I felt like I was there. I think this strikes that magic balance: it will appeal to both kids and adults alike. Gary D. Schmidt‘s entire back list is now on my TBR list.

A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens

Rating:

This is a classic. And it deserves to be. It’s everything you could want in a story. And it made me realize why that song says “There’ll be scary ghost stories and tales of the glories of Christmases long, long ago.” Dickens and I have not always gotten along in the past, but this book has made me want to try more of his stuff.

Three Cups of Deceit, by Jon Krakauer

Rating:

I was predisposed to like this book, since I hated Three Cups of Tea. But I just didn’t feel like it came together. Maybe there was too much emotion and not enough research and sources to back up the statements. I did feel that the parts about the management of the organization were will constructed and researched. In any case, it’s an interesting counterargument to Three Cups of Tea and shows that Greg Mortensen is not exactly what he says he is.

Before I Go To Sleep, by S.J. Watson

Rating:

This book gets full marks for pacing. It’s remarkable, especially since it’s S.J. Watson‘s first novel. I could not wait to find out exactly what happened. You know the premise, right? Christine has amnesia. Every morning she wakes up and cannot remember anything. So, she starts to keep a journal, so she can remember. And she begins to discover some unsettling things. Alas, at least one point must be deducted for its failure to hold up over time. This isn’t a book that, for me, held up upon reflection a few days later, and I highly doubt it would stand up to the rigors of a reread.

The Girl Who Chased the Moon, by Sarah Addison Allen

Rating:

My first experience with Sarah Addison Allen. I’d heard about her brand of magical realism and wasn’t sure what to exact. But it was rather delightful. I enjoyed all of the characters. But, I was rooting most for the secondary romance plot. I wish that had been the main focus. And this book is very light and fun, but I didn’t find a lot of substance. Still, I think I’ll keep Allen in mind when I need a palate cleanser.

The Truth About Forever, by Sarah Dessen

Rating:

I really liked this book – my first Sarah Dessen. For YA, I felt it had a lot of depth and good characters. And it stuck with me afterwards, which is saying something. Macy gets a summer job away from her Type-A mother as an assistant in a catering company. There she meets people so different from her usual crowd that she’s forced to examine who she really is. Standard fare as far as YA plots go, but I loved the characters and the writing. I’ll be reading more Dessen.

The Nanny Diaries, by Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus

Rating:

So, I’m not a fan. I know many people who are. But I just found the people to be awful, and I couldn’t find much to be amused about. Nanny takes a position with the X family, caring for Grayer. The X family is rather appalling, and there is little Nanny can or should do. It is based on the writers’ experiences being nannies in New York, so it did have some interesting insight into New York and the life of a nanny. But I thought the writing was just okay. And I felt it unsuccessfully walked a line between plot points based on real experiences and entirely fabricated plot points. It just felt uneven and a little sad.

This Is What I Did, by Ann Dee Ellis

Rating:

Interestingly told story about a kid haunted by a traumatic event. Logan’s best friend, Zyler, has a rough home life, and that ends up spreading into Logan’s life. The prose is sparse but insightful. At the end of the day, I didn’t end up forging a strong connection with Logan, but I did feel bad for him that he had to experience the things he did. I admired the unusual structure and writing style and look forward to reading more from Ann Dee Ellis. Ellis will be teaching at the upcoming Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers Conference, which will be held June 18-22, 2012. You should check it out if you’re an aspiring writer; the lineup looks awesome.

Have you read any of these books? Which was your favorite?

Here is an abstract of my literary doings in April.

Books Read – April 2012

Petronella Saves Nearly Everyone, by Dene Low – 4/2/2012
First Love, Last Rites, by Ian McEwan – 4/3/2012
The Maze Runner, by James Dashner (Audio) – 4/12/2012
Watership Down, by Richard Adams – 4/18/2012
Shanghai Girls, by Lisa See – 4/23/2012
The Sisters Brothers, by Patrick deWitt – 4/26/2012
Snow in April, by Rosamunde Pilcher – 4/27/2012
Stories for Nighttime and Some for the Day, by Ben Loory – 4/30/2012

April Total = 8
Year-to-Date Total = 41

The Sisters Brothers was the best read of the month. It’s such a good book. An almost perfect book. Read it.

Book Club

The Highland Book Club read Shanghai Girls, by Lisa See this month. It’s the story of two Chinese sisters who survive the Japanese invasion of China in the 1930s and eventually immigrate to the United States. It was really good. I can’t wait to read the follow up, Dreams of Joy. Up next month is one of my favorite books, The Road, by Cormac McCarthy.

The Third Thursday Book Club read Watership Down, by Richard Adams. Not many of us finished, and I think I was the only one that liked it. Yes, it’s long. And yes, it’s about bunnies. But I liked it. Next month we’re reading Precious Bane, by Mary Webb.

Challenges

No challenge progress this month.

The Pulitzer Project – 11/84
The Printz Project – 8/13 (+7 Honor books)
The Newberry Project – 24/91 (+11 Honor books)

April Highlights

• The 2012 Pultizer Prizes were announced, but there was no award for fiction.
• I hosted a mini-challenge for Dewey’s Read-a-Thon on Rereading.
• My brother and I released the inaugural episode of our new podcast, Film/Lit.
• I held a random book giveaway.
• In The Sunday Salon, I reported back on the bookish podcasts I’ve been listening to that you recommended.
• I also posted a set of mini reviews and my reviews of First Love, Last Rights, the newest TOON Book, and On the Road.

That’s it. That’s what happened in April. Thanks to everyone who stopped by my blog this month!

I ♥ podcasts.
I asked for podcast recommendations, and you came through in a big way. I haven’t made it to every recommendation yet, but I’m working on it. Here are the ones I’ve tried so far.

Books on the Nightstand. Wonderful wonderful wonderful. I love this podcast. It’s short and fun. And there’s a new episode almost every week! It’s half an hour and generally divided into three segments. The first two are usually discussion questions based on reader interactions and questions, and the last is usually book recommendations – two books they can’t wait for us to read. Ann Kingman and Michael Kindness both work for Random House, and I love the publisher/insider perspectives they share on books.

Writing Excuses: “Fifteen minutes long, because you’re in a hurry, and we’re not that smart.” Hosted by Brandon Sanderson, Dan Wells, Mary Robinette Kowal, and Howard Tayler, this podcast is geared primarily toward writers, but I enjoy it thoroughly as a reader. The ‘cast is in it’s seventh season and puts out a new episode every week or so, and so there are many many episodes to mine though.

Bookrageous: “Serious about books but not exactly serious.” This is a bit longer at a hour or so. Divided into two segments, the first outlines what the three hosts (Jenn, Rebecca, and Josh) have been reading, and the second is a general book discussion organized around a theme or topic. It’s a great podcast, though I sometimes find it a bit long. They post detailed show notes, though, so you can jump to particular topics of interest. New episodes appear approximately every two weeks or so.

The Slate Podcasts. Slate has a whole slate of podcasts. Ha! I listened to several episodes of Slate’s Audio Book Club. I found them to be a little harsh on the books, but I’ll keep tuning in when I’ve read the selected book. Unfortunately, there hasn’t been a new episode since December. I’m not sure if it’s now defunct, but there are several years of back episodes to tide you over in the meantime. The other one I tried, Slate’s Culture Gabfest is fun, comes highly recommended, and has a big following, but it doesn’t focus on books.

Book Lust with Nancy Pearl. I found this one (at least the two episodes I sampled) to be a little dry. It appears only once a month, but she has some amazing guests – Chris Van Allsburg, China Mieville, Rebecca Stead, Justin Cronin, etc. I’ll tune into this podcast when the guest particularly interests me.

The Book Show on CFCR. A Canadian show about books! It has a youthful, informal vibe to it. While there are two hosts, Ann and Joe, many of the episodes I’ve listened to are just Ann talking about books or a bookish topic. It’s fun and short and covers a variety of topics. New episodes are posted about every week or at least every other.

The Book Show: “A celebration of reading and writers.” Host Joe Donahue has an author-guest each time. The list of the last five or so (Anne Rice, Naomi Benaron, Howard Frank Mosher, Jodi Picoult, and Adam Johnson) didn’t particularly speak to me, but I’m keeping my eye on it.

Film/Lit. A shameless plug for a podcast that my brother and I are putting together. “We’re siblings quibbling over books and movies.” Look for our second episode on suburbia in the next week or so.

Do you listen to any of these? What is your favorite bookish podcast?

Title: On the Road
Author: Jack Kerouac
Pages: 313
Originally Published: 1957
Format I Read: Hardback
Publisher: Penguin
Rating:

____________________________

I originally gave this book two stars on goodreads, just moments after I finished it. I was rather disgusted with it. But, in the ensuing days, the book stuck with me and won itself an additional star. Let’s start with what I didn’t like.

CONS
Lack of plot – Um, yeah. The plot is essentially that Sal Paradise travels about the country with a variety of ill-mannered friends, including one Dean Moriarty. But that is it. There is no more to it than that.

Despicable characters – The characters in this book! They are despicable. They commit petty (steal gas and food) and not-so-petty (rape a “simple” girl) crimes. They have no respect for other people or their property (they completely destroy a car they were trusted to drive to Chicago). They do drugs and abandon responsibilities (they walk away from wives and children). If this is, as it is repeatedly toted, THE book of the beat generation, then I am supremely glad to have missed it.

Choppy writing – Other than a few great descriptions, the writing is mostly ho-hum and often choppy and disjointed. There is no flow to this book. I literally had to force myself to finish it. My natural inclination was to abandon ship after about 100 pages.

PROS
The evocation of an era – the saving grace of On the Road, in my eyes, is its rather fascinating encapsulation of a generation. Of a lifestyle. This “beat” generation was a bit of a lost generation, coming as it did on the heels of the greatest generation and two world wars. There is no denying that it is iconic for that reason. I there is something about the feeling it evokes.

Excellent descriptions – usually in one or two sentence bits here and there.

But then they danced down the streets like dingledodies, and I shambled after as I’ve been doing all my life after people who interest me, because the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones that never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes “Awww!” What did they call such young people in Goethe’s Germany? (5-6)

. . . I like too many things and get all confused and hung-up running from one falling star to another till I drop. This is the night, what it does to you. I had nothing to offer anybody except my own confusion. (127)

Now you just dig them in front. They have worries, they’re counting the miles, they’re thinking about where to sleep tonight, how much money for gas, the weather, how they’ll get there–and all the time they’ll get there anyway, you see. (212)

Our battered suitcases were piled on the sidewalk again; we had longer ways to go. But no matter, the road is life. (215)

What’s your road, man?–holyboy road, madman road, rainbow road, guppy road, any road. It’s an anywhere road for anybody anyhow. (255)

Suddenly I had a vision of Dean, a burning shuddering frightful Angel, palpitating toward me across the road, approaching like a cloud, with enormous speed, pursuing me like the Shrouded Traveler on the plain, bearing down on me. I saw his huge face over the plains with the mad, bony purpose and the gleaming eyes; I saw his wings; I saw his old jalopy chariot with thousands of sparking flames shooting out from it; I saw the path it burned over the road; it even made its own road and went over the corn, through cities, destroying bridges, drying rivers. It came like wrath to the West. I knew Dean had gone mad again. (263)

Unfortunately, for me anyway, the cons outweighed the pros. The second quote kind of sums it up for me: “I had nothing to offer anybody except my own confusion.” At the end of the day, I’m glad I read this.  But I can’t say that I wholly enjoyed the journey.

On the Road, by Jack Kerouac

Have you read or reviewed this book too? Feel free to jump in with your thoughts or leave a link to your review in the comments.

**UPDATE: The winner (randomly selected by random.org) of a book from The Book Depository is Melissa from The Avid Reader’s Musings. Though the prize has been awarded, please feel free to keep commenting and posting about your rereads. Happy read-a-thon-ing!

Congratulations on making it to hour 16 of the read-a-thon! Here’s a mini-challenge to give your mind a little break.

On rereading:

“Once we know the plot and its surprises, we can appreciate a book’s artistry without the usual confusion and sap flow of emotion, content to follow the action with tenderness and interest, all passion spent. Rather than surrender to the story or the characters – as a good first reader ought – we can now look at how the book works, and instead of swooning over it like a besotted lover begin to appreciate its intricacy and craftmanship. Surprisingly, such dissection doesn’t murder the experience. Just the opposite: Only then does a work of art fully live.” – Michael Dirda in Book by Book

Here’s the challenge:

1. Go back to your blog, and tell us about a book you’re rereading during the read-a-thon. Maybe post a picture of the book and describe why you love it enough to reread it.

OR

2. Go back to your blog, and give us a list of your top favorite rereads of all time. You know, those books that you can go to time and time again for comfort and escape. Again, pictures are always good but not required.

Once you’ve posted, come back here, and leave a comment with a link to your blog post. (Or, if you don’t have a blog, feel free to leave your entry in the comments.) This mini-challenge will stay open for two hours.

I’ll select one lucky reader to receive a book (up to $15) from The Book Depository, perhaps for a tome you’d like to reread. Thanks for playing!

It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of TOON Books, a delightful line of comics/graphic novels for children. I’ve read and reviewed almost every book in the TOON Books line here on The Bluestocking Society, including Jack and the Box, Stinky, Mo and Jo: Fighting Together Forever, Luke on the Loose, Benny and Penny in The Big No-No, Benny and Penny in The Toy Breaker, Zig and Wikki in Something Ate My Homework, Nina in That Makes Me Mad, Benjamin Bear in Fuzzy Thinking, Zig and Wikki in The Cow, and Chick and Chickie in Play All Day. I enjoyed each of these books, but I think The Shark King is my favorite of them all.

The Shark King, by R. Kikuo Johnson

The Shark King is a magical folktale that takes place in Hawaii. It opens with Kalei being rescued from the shark king. She marries her rescuer and soon bears Nanaue. He is placed in a unique situation in which he has to choose between his mother and his father.

I really enjoyed this nuanced story. I loved the Hawaiian and folktale feel to it. The pictures and story are precisely in sync. It’s divided into three chapters and is perfectly suited for the second- and third-grade crowd.

TOON Books are stories in comic book form for young readers. The series advisor is Art Spiegelman, author of the well-regarded Maus graphic novels. Each TOON Book has been vetted by educators and is recommended for elementary school-aged children. I love the idea of introducing children to the comic book/graphic novel form and highly recommend TOON Books to early readers.

Check out TOON-Books.com for a great interactive experience and more information about the line.