Kushiel's Avatar

by Jacqueline Carey

I'm actually sad to have finished this trilogy. I absolutely love Phedre as a heroine. Despite the fact that I knew I could have given myself a longer break between the second book and this one, I really didn't want to. Not least of which because there are A LOT of characters and I've already had trouble keeping them all straight. I think it took me until this book to really get a good idea of who's who.

I'm not normally a fan of first-person narration but it's the dominant style these days so I guess I'm just going to have to get used to it. I actually really like the way it's used in these books. Phedre is a kick-ass heroine, but she doesn't seem to realize it. Yet at no point does she come off as sounding naive. For example, every time Katniss got all self-deprecating I was like, "Really? Where are you getting this from?" ("The Hunger Games" is one series that really should not have been told in first person).

Everything Phedre thinks and does is totally believable. I found myself thinking about her the same way she thought about herself until another character told her how remarkable she is. Then I had to step back and go, "Oh, yeah. That was pretty awesome." But because Carey's writing is so in-the-moment, I had to consciously step back from Phedre's mindset in order to see it.

I also love the way Phedre matures. By the time this book ends she's approximately 20 years older than she is at the start of the first book and she believably sounds like it. She looks back on things she did and thought as a child and thinks, "Was I really that bad?" and I had to go, "Oh, yeah! You were a total brat!" However, at no point did I wonder how she got from that obnoxious, self-absorbed child to the mature, responsible woman she is in the second and third books. After all, throughout the series, she has a number of adventures which force her to grow up real fast. And she does so.

Gone Girl

by Gillian Flynn

Okay, so I initially didn't want to read this book. I read the synopsis and thought "Nah, not really for me." Then everyone and their mother started reading and raving about it. So, of course, conformist that I am, I had to read it, too.

I'm really glad I did. I loved it! It was brilliantly written. I'm going to try to talk about the things I loved without spoiling too much because, if you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend it. One of the characters is brilliantly manipulative but, in order for her to pull it off, Flynn had to be brilliantly manipulative. The switches she makes between characters, even within characters, is nothing short of masterful and it left me in awe.

The whole book is a battle of wits between a husband and wife and I loved it because, while rooting for one, it kind of seems inevitable that the other will win (I won't tell you which or why in case your opinion differs). But it was fun in all the ways that mind games are always fun to read about and then some.

The only part I really had a problem with was a woman convincing her husband (and other people in her life) that she was deadly afraid of blood. How stupid are these people? Don't they know that women have to deal with blood every month? How exactly would a woman manage to deal with that unpleasantness every month if she could't stand the sight or smell of blood? I've heard of men who can't stand the sight of blood, but never a woman.

FINISHED!

It's over! National Novel Writing Month has officially moved on to Christmas month which means we can all move on from our respective writing projects to buying presents and eating lots and lots of sugar!

So here's what I did: In terms of attaining my goal of spending at least one hour a day researching or editing there was only one day where I did neither and there was one day where I only spent half an hour researching. On the other hand, there were other days where I spent more than an hour (sometimes two hours) doing either research and/or editing. So, all in all, I definitely spent more than 30 hours working on my 2 projects and, personally, I consider that to be pretty good.

I also attained my goal of finishing the one book I was using for research and moving on to a new book. The new book is borrowed from the library so I am continuing my pledge to do at least a little research every day until I have to return it. At that point I will return it to the library and forget about it until the holidays are over.

Speaking of which, one of the things I will never understand about National Novel Writing Month is why it takes place in a month that also includes a major holiday. In the past I have been known to spend all week baking for Thanksgiving. This year, I had to get up at 6am in order to get my editing/research done and all of my baking (somehow I got put in charge of all the pies for my family. Still not sure how that happened). So trying to write a novel and get all that baking done would never happen. I would probably have to pull an all-nighter and that will never happen because sleep is actually a #1 priority for me!

How did you guys do? Are you as glad as I am that it's all over?

Kushiel's Chosen

by Jacqueline Carey

If you read my post a few weeks ago about the first book in this series, then you probably have a pretty good idea of how much I loved this one. The first book ended on a cliffhanger so I could only allow myself a short break before diving into this one. I was not disappointed. This book hit the ground running and didn't stop until maybe twenty pages from the end at which point they all have a big glamorous party to celebrate (btw, I SO want to go to one of those parties!)

The only thing that irked me about this book was how often Phedre had to tell us about her training. "I can do such and such because I was trained to do it." "In the Night Court, we were all trained to do this." "Fortunately, Delauney had drilled me for hours until I had perfected blah blah blah!" I got pretty sick of it pretty quick. Yes, you're awesome. The perfect agent/whore because of all the mentors you had when you were growing up. We get it. Now can we please get on with the story?

That minor annoyance aside, Carey comes back to this book with a vengeance. It's exciting, there's more adventure, intrigue, all sorts of double-crossing and back-stabbing, and characters that come off the page. As many characters as she has, I love each and every one of them ... even when I can't keep track of them all. Even minor characters who only stick around for a few chapters shine with their own brilliance and make me wish we could see more of them. Overall, it was an excellent read and I highly recommend it to all fantasy-lovers.

Life of Pi

by Yann Martel

I really liked this book! I hesitated for quite some time before reading it. People were all over it a few years ago but I didn't think a book about a boy and a tiger trapped on a lifeboat could be all that interesting. In hindsight, I wonder why on earth not? Then (of course) I saw the trailer for the movie and got all excited and decided that I absolutely needed to read this book right away!

I was right. Of course, boy + tiger + boat was the sum total of what I knew of this book before reading it. So you can imagine my surprise when I read the first 3rd of the book (31% to be exact. Can you tell I read this one on my Kindle? I can't give you a page number, but I can give you an exact percentage.) before there was any sign of a boat. Unfortunately, that may have had a negative effect on my enjoyment of the first third of the book, which is really too bad because it's an excellent section. We get a great introduction to our main character, the life of a zoo-owner, and some generalizations on animals. We also get some fascinating discussions about religion which I very much enjoyed. It's another one of those where the similarities between the different religions are celebrated, rather than the differences and I am always all for that!

The rest of the book, the part that actually happens at sea, is also quite fascinating and that is quite a feat! With a few exceptions, most of the time they're just out there floating in the ocean, not really doing much of anything. And I still wanted to keep reading! That is impressive! I can honestly say that I was never bored while reading this book.

Some of the exceptions to the sitting around doing nothing include our main character, Pi, training the tiger, Richard Parker. I found it fascinating! I have no idea how much of it is true/believable (my exposure to tigers has been limited to the safe side of the glass in zoos) but I was certainly convinced. Of course, as I said, my understanding of the book pre-read was very limited. I was under the impression it was one of those soft cuddly tigers that lived in perfect harmony with a human boy. Not the case. Pi's life is in serious danger here and he never forgets that for an instant. At the same time, the bravery he demonstrates is just awe-inspiring. One could argue that he had no choice but, let's be honest here, how many of us would have jumped right off that boat and taken our chances with the sharks?

National Novel Writing Month

Alright, I'll be honest, here's my two cents on the idea of trying to write a novel in a month: I think it's one of the dumbest things ever conceived. I wrote a novel. It took me a full year to come up with 75,000 words and at the end of that year I was really cranky because all I did was work and write. I felt like I had no time for me and, when I did sneak some quality alone time, I felt like I was cheating. I felt guilty for not writing.

So, when I think of trying to crank out 50,000 words in a single month, I wonder why on Earth I would ever attempt such a thing. It cannot be done (maybe if I were still unemployed - thankfully that's not the case). I would just be setting myself up for failure and why would I do that to myself? (I am merciless when I don't meet the goals I set for myself.)

Considering how much I hate the first draft of that novel it took me a year to write, I can only imagine the crap I can pull out of my butt in a single month. The amount of re-writing required would be enormous and, again, I don't know why I would want to do that to myself.

That being said I do kind of want to participate, if only because half the people I follow online are writers and they're all getting geared up for this. So here's the deal. I currently have two novels going (sort of). One is in the final editing stages, while the other is in the research stages. So, in the spirit of National Novel Writing Month, I will commit to spending at least one hour per day working on one of these stories. As far as a final goal for the month, I want to be finished with the research book I'm currently using and move onto a new one. I have been working through this book for much too long and, if nothing else, I can use this month to motivate myself to finish it and move on. As far as the novel that is currently in the editing stages, it's a one-chapter-at-a-time deal with an online writing circle, so there's no way that's going to be done by the end of the month.

That's all for me folks! See you in a month!

Kushiel's Dart

by Jacqueline Carey

It had been awhile since I had delved into a good fantasy series and this book had been sitting on my shelf, patiently waiting for me to get around to reading it, for WAY too long! I'm so glad I finally dove in to this one and I wish I had done it earlier! I really enjoyed. I really really enjoyed it.

For those of you following along on this blog, this was the book I was reading for Readathon 2012. Although I didn't get through as many pages as I had hoped to in 7 hours of reading, it was the kind of book where I could easily sit for most of a day and lose myself. It's completely absorbing and very suspenseful. The action is pretty much nonstop. I don't think there was ever a moment when I thought, "Okay, can we get on with the story already?"

My favorite thing about this book is the world-building. It's something I've never managed to master in my own writing, so I admire it all the more when other people succeed at it. Carey has an entire continent with different countries and states and people. It's obvious where her inspiration comes from for each area, but I don't think that necessarily makes it any less impressive. The city we start out in seems to be largely based on France. Most of the names and titles are either French or very similar to French, with a difference of just a letter or two. La Serenissima and its prominent families are clearly Italian, the Skaldi are reminiscent of Vikings without the ships, and the Albans and the Dalriada are obviously Celtic. There are even more, but those are the prominent players. I did wonder about whoever drew the map, though. As Phedre traveled all over, I found myself constantly referring to the map drawn at the front of the book, but what I saw didn't always quite match up with what I was reading.

My one complaint would be that it runs a little long. It's almost exactly 900 pages and, after about 700, my interest in a book dwindles and I become anxious to get to the end already. Fortunately the second book is closer to 600 pages so, after a short break, I can get back to this series. That's good because there are so many characters and intrigues that I feel like, after too long of a break, I would have a hard time remembering who was who and which character double-crossed whom.

Readathon 2012!

I DID A LOT OF READING!

Well, actually I didn't get nearly as much done as I had hoped. The readathon was supposed to be a full 24 hours but I limited myself to 8, as that's all I figured I could handle and it's double my previous record for amount of time spent reading in one sitting.

As a newbie to the whole readathon event (I hadn't even heard of it until about a week and a half ago) I got some advice from my favorite place: the internet! In this magical place a veteran of the readathon gave advice. 1) To read short books so you feel more productive by the end of the day. I did not obey this rule. I am currently enmeshed in an epic fantasy and had no desire to leave it. It's very well-written and suspenseful so I had no problem reading this one story for the whole day. 2) To alternate healthy snacks with the unhealthy so you don't feel like dying by the end of the day. I had an apple turnover. That counts for both, right? Cuz apples are healthy?

I would like to add to that my own piece of advice. Get up and move around. At least once per hour, even if it's just to stretch or do jumping jacks or something. I'm participating in a walking competition at work so I spent some time walking circles around my living room to get my steps in. Go multi-tasking! I also found it helped because, not only is it just generally healthy and we should remember to do this everyday, but, in the past, the amount of time I could spend reading in one go was frequently limited by how long I could sit still. Making sure to get my walking in definitely helped with that.

So there it is! That was my experience with my very first readathon. Maybe next time I'll extend it to 10 hours *gasp*!

The Prince

by Niccolo Machiavelli

Not a lot to say about this book. I read it for a few reasons: 1) A college professor told me every college student should read it before graduating. Well, I didn't make that goal, but I figured better late than never. 2) It gets referenced a lot and I wanted to have a better understanding of what everyone is referring to. 3) I found it on sale at Barnes & Noble + I had a gift card to Barnes & Noble = impulse purchase.

Overall I found it fascinating. If Machiavelli wasn't right in everything he said, he certainly made a good case for it. Admittedly he backed up his statements with examples from history that I was not familiar with so I find it hard to argue with him. The one thing I will argue with him on is his statement that a prince should study war above all things (by prince he means sovereign. He uses the word the way I would use "king"). While I recognize that this must have been very important for a prince at that time (not so much now), I highly doubt it was the only thing a prince should study. Machiavelli himself listed a plethora of examples of a prince needing to understand people, both the specific people around him, as well as how people operate in groups.

I will even agree with Machiavelli's most infamous statement that it is better for a prince to be feared than loved. His reasoning for this is basically that goodwill in and of itself is not enough to keep men from rising up against you and he's right. Men, in general, are selfish and short-sighted and whatever love they bear for their prince is unlikely to be enough to prevent them from rising against him when times get tough. Machiavelli does not say that it is not good for a prince to be loved and I'm afraid that's how this statement is often interpreted. What he actually says is that, if it were possible to be both feared and loved, that would be ideal but, seeing as how that is rarely, if ever, possible, one must choose and the best choice of the two is to be feared.

According to the notes in my translation, the section of this piece that caused the most offense was the one preceding his famous line about fear vs. love. In said section, Machiavelli discusses the various traits a prince should have. I'm not going to list them all but he basically says that, while it sounds like a good idea thing to possess all those traits men think of as virtuous and to abstain from all traits viewed as undesirable, it's just not possible. Machiavelli goes on to list virtuous princes who were overthrown and princes with less than favorable reputations who maintained solid kingdoms throughout their lives. The fact of the matter is that, while one might wish to be thought of as honest and virtuous, possessing those qualities, particularly in the extreme, can lead a monarch to serious problems. Anyone who has seen the first season of Game of Thrones knows that.

My guess would be that where Machiavelli really upset people was when he said it didn't matter whether a prince was religious or not, although it was usually a good idea to appear religious.

DISCLAIMER: I used the term "men" to mean mankind in general because I didn't feel like writing "men and women" every time. So don't take it personally, guys.

Jazz

by Toni Morrison

I loved this book. I had been reading a lot of light fluffy stuff and was ready for something a little more dense. Even though this only took me a week to get through, it's not a very long book and was much more thought-provoking than anything else I've read lately. This is the kind of book you don't zip through. You have to sip it slowly and really savor it. I will probably need to read it at least once more in order to fully appreciate it.

I adore Toni Morrison's writing. I admire her ability to just ignore the standard laws of writing. For example, while most of us feel obligated to put commas after each item in a list, she feels no such compulsion. Yet it works phenomenally well because commas create pauses in our prose and Morrison doesn't want those pauses. It gives her writing a sense of flow, but it doesn't get out of control. I read once that she tries to make her writing sound like jazz and I think she has mastered that art. Her creative use of grammar gives her writing a musical quality. It seems to carry you along with it as she tells you her story. I found myself completely absorbed by it and angry at the phone for ringing when I was clearly trying to read this book! Rude!

Morrison also feels no need to tell her story in a chronological manner and I'm also totally okay with that. The only problem was I did have trouble in some parts trying to figure out what happened when and how it related to other events in the story. Hence my need to re-read this book. Maybe not right away, but someday. I promise you though, all the events and characters are related to each other, some of them in surprising ways.

I'm also in awe of Morrison's choice of narrator in that she was not omniscient. She would write a chapter where a character explained their thoughts and actions and then the narrator would step back and speculate as to why that character did such-and-such or what they thought about a certain event. And she wouldn't even reach a conclusion. She would merely state that she wondered about it, maybe put forth a few theories, and then move on. I loved that because it made it feel like I was reading this story with the narrator, rather than having the narrator tell me the story. It was as if we were discovering these people and events together.

Divergent

by Veronica Roth

So I read about two chapters of this book and went, "I am so over this whole dystopia thing. So, why am I even reading this?" Well, the answer is threefold. 1) Because everyone else and their mother has started reading it and I want to be part of the in-crowd (PLEASE don't exclude me! I'll read anything! Yeah, sometimes I'm still that shy, nervous little 14-year-old and for that I apologize). 2) A friend of mine whose opinion I respect read it and loved it. Sorry, but on this one we have to disagree. 3) The book was a super quick read and I knew it would only take a few hours of my life to get through.

That being said, I think there are a lot of similarities to the Hunger Games here, both good and bad. First off, we have another 16-year-old kick-ass girl as our heroine. Don't get me wrong, I love a good old-fashioned kick-ass heroine (Buffy is only my favorite show ever). My problem is with the author sticking me inside her head and not letting me out. I'm sorry, I already spent my time as a neurotic teenager, I really don't want to spend any more time in that hell.

Much like Katniss, our heroine, Tris, is pretty good at survival stuff, underestimates herself (actually, in this case, I'm okay with that, with Katniss, it got kind of obnoxious), and is clueless when it comes to boys. Sometimes she's clueless with people in general and that, too, is all normal teenage girl stuff. I just don't want to be stuck in her head for all of it.

My other problem was entering this story knowing that it involved civil war. So I spent 3/4 of the book going "where's the war?" Once the war started, it was awesome. The action scenes were intense and suspenseful and kept me reading. But, again, I have to quibble about being stuck inside the main character's head because, if I hadn't been, it would have increased my suspense. As it was, I knew the narrator needed to stick around and was therefore safe.

So, right now I'm debating whether or not I want to continue reading this series. Now that the war is in full swing, I might ...

Vanity Fair

by William Makepeace Thackeray

I loved this book! I wasn't expecting to. Honestly, I'm not sure what I was expecting. I had seen the movie with Reese Witherspoon and I had heard that she made Rebecca much too sympathetic (which she did) but I wasn't expecting something so satirical. Thackeray makes fun of each and every one of his characters mercilessly and it's great fun! All of his characters are caricatures so don't expect them to be full-fleshed people. They are paper puppets who exist purely for Thackeray to mock and ridicule and watching him do so is immensely enjoyable.

I think this is his version of Trollope's "The Way We Live Now". He's making fun of, not only his characters, but of society and the way it operated in his day. He relentlessly points out and makes fun of all of society's little idiosyncrasies and hypocrisies and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Despite it's size (a mere 800 pages) it's not nearly as formidable as it looks. Thackeray's writing style is very conversational and, therefore, very light and fluffy and easy to breeze through. Before I knew it I was half-way through!

Another thing I hadn't realized before reading this book was that Rebecca is merely one of two main characters. Her friend, Amelia, is the true heroine of the book but I don't think she even appeared in the movie. I can understand why. She's boring. The only reason I kept reading about her was because I loved watching Thackeray make fun of her and the people around her. Without that there is absolutely nothing engaging about her so leaving her out of the movie was an excellent choice. Not to mention there's quite enough material to cover with just Rebecca's adventures (like I said, the book is 800 pages long! It covers a lot of ground!)

Heat Rises

by Richard Castle

I was dubious about these books to begin with. I thought it was brilliant that someone had actually come up with the idea of writing, publishing, and selling the book that Nathan Fillion's character, Castle, was writing during the first season of the show, but I didn't think I actually wanted to read the book.

I was wrong. Clearly, since I've now read three of them. The only reason I waited so long to read this one (I bought it as soon as it came out) was because I like to save these books for the middle of the summer, half-way between seasons of the show when my Castle withdrawal is at its peak. This helps hold me over until the next season. Although I enjoyed the first two books, I thought they'd be the type I'd read once and then give away. Yeah, ... that's not gonna happen.

This book pulled me in much the same way the show has. I started because it was light and fun, not planning on getting emotionally invested in any of the characters. The first two books were pretty typical murder mysteries (which, by the way, I never read, so extra props to them for getting me to read a genre I don't normally like). This one has managed to strike a deeper emotional core. For those of you watching the show, this book incorporates the murder of Captain Montgomery into the world of the books, making sure that, as far as characters go, the show and the books remain on the same page (no pun intended). Not only am I sad that I finished the book (I think my Castle withdrawal might actually be worse now) but I'm not sure I can wait until next summer before reading the next one. I have to find out what comes next.

I think my only quibble with the books is Rook's tendency to blurt out fantastic theories based on his imagination rather than fact. It makes sense that Castle does this - he is a mystery writer after all - but Rook is a journalist and, as a journalist, he would know to look for facts first. However, Castle's exciting, off-the-wall theories are part of what make him so endearing and a part of why we all love him and show, so I'm willing to let that one go.

I do have to mention a moment I loved more than any other. The moment when the agent tells Rook he looks like "that space captain" and Rook says "Malcolm Reynolds?" It made my night. I am so glad that, not only the writers of the show, but also the book's ghost writer appreciate the number of Firefly fans watching the show and reading the books and give us little shout-outs like that. We appreciate it.

Cutting For Stone

by Abraham Verghese

I was a little wary of reading this book. I had heard really good things about it but it looked pretty rough, so I hesitated.

I loved it. Parts of it are pretty rough, but it's still a really good book. It's beautifully written and I adore Verghese's command of the English language. It's written in first person which, normally, is not my favorite. I find that point of view to be very limiting and, normally, it shows. In this case, the narrator felt free to talk about things that happened when he either wasn't present or was unconscious. And it worked. I would have expected this to drive me crazy, but it really didn't. I'm not sure what sort of magic Verghese worked to make that happen but extra props to him!

The story is about a lot of things. I think that, at it's heart, it's about the relationships between people and the things that can drive them apart and the things that keep them together. My favorite thing here is that place really isn't an issue. We meet characters of all races and nationalities who fall in love, who form friendships, who form the tightest of bonds. I love that. It also awakened the traveler in me as the main character marvels at the differences between different places. Time to start saving up for my next trip!

Habibi

by Craig Thompson

Oh, my god, I LOVED this book! It has some rough spots (like, 99% of the book) but it has a happy ending and it is beautifully drawn. I am absolutely blown away by Thompson's artistic ability and the amount of detail that goes into each and every page. In this book in particular he uses the Arabic alphabet and art as influences and incorporates them into his drawings and the effect is just lovely.

I also admire the number of times he's able to draw naked women without making me feel like he's a pervert. There are a LOT of naked women in this book but it's almost always presented in a very matter-of-fact way. Such as in the harem when there's no one around except other women and eunuchs so they feel perfectly comfortable just lying around partially or completely naked. When the nudity is not presented in a matter-of-fact way it's there to make a very specific point and it does so effectively.

The story takes place over 15 years. Maybe more because we're never really told how much time the last few chapters cover. It's about a young girl and a young boy and how they grow up together, get separated, and find each other again as adults. It's also about slavery, race relations, sex, and religion. The two main characters are Muslim but Thompson makes a point of showing the differences and similarities between the Muslim version and the Christian version. Personally, I love that because, particularly at this time in our country's history, I love someone showing the things that make us similar rather than the things that make us different. Thompson both embraces Islam as an off-shoot of Christianity while simultaneously displaying the beliefs and practices which make it unique.

Definitely Dead

by Charlaine Harris

So after reading a George Eliot and feeling all smart and sophisticated and stuff I thought my brain deserved a vacation. So I read another Sookie book. I still love them. In general, I'm not a fan of the first person narrative. As a writer I find it too limiting and there are times when, as a reader, I find those limitations in books to be frustrating. However, I think Harris uses it pretty effectively. There's never a moment when I wish I could have seen something that happened off-screen or from another character's point of view - mostly because of Sookie's telepathic ability. Despite all of her whining about it she's always willing to use it when it comes in handy. I particularly enjoy Harris' use of first person narration in creating the tone for the books. It feels very conversational and, I might be in the minority here but, I like that.

A heads-up to those of you reading the series who haven't gotten this far yet: there's a short story called "One Word Answer" that Harris wrote about Sookie and the events in that story are relevant to what happens in this book. Harris is pretty good at recapping so I wouldn't say you have to read the short story before reading this book, but I would highly recommend it. Also Bubba reappears in the short story and who doesn't love Bubba?

Overall, I liked this book for the same reason I like all the other Sookie books. It's light and fun and easy to breeze through in a week. It's full of action and suspense (both things Harris does well) and we get a new love interest for Sookie. Personally, he's my favorite so far. I hope he sticks around for awhile. We also get a closer look at the politics of the supernatural underworld which is both fascinating and terrifying (terrifying for Sookie, fascinating for us since we're safely on the other side of the page). And we get still more of Sookie's past, which helps us to know more about her and helps her to look at a relationship in a very different way - actually two relationships but I don't want to spoil anything for people not watching the show.

Adam Bede

by George Eliot

I love George Eliot so much. Jane Austen has been my favorite author since childhood but Eliot has been giving her a run for her money for the past few years. Austen is still in the lead but not by much.

The reasons I love Eliot are because I love her characters, her dialogue, and her narrative voice, particularly her free indirect discourse. These are all things I also love about Austen but Eliot does them in slightly different ways and I can't even really put my finger on what, exactly, makes them different. Suffice to say that Eliot has her own voice and I love her for it. I particularly love the way she steps back every now and then and addresses the reader directly. It doesn't add to the story but it gives a feeling that there's a conversation going on between the reader and the author (remember, this was the day before every writer had a Twitter account). I loved this, if only because nobody does it anymore and I found it such a refreshing change of pace from what I've been reading lately (if I submitted a manuscript to an editor today that contained any passages like that, they would make me get rid of it so fast it would make my head spin).

I particularly appreciated Eliot's use of free indirect discourse to give us a look at a character suffering some serious cognitive dissonance. I loved it because this is a thing we all experience, to some extent, on a daily basis, even if we're not consciously aware of it. Giving us an inside look at this mental process makes it easy to understand the excuses the poor guy keeps making for his actions (think "I'll go on a diet tomorrow") but, at the same time, we can't feel too sorry for him when it all goes horribly wrong. He knew from the beginning that it couldn't end well and, just because we got to see that he struggled with the issue, doesn't absolve him of responsibility. I think the main lesson here is that it's not the thought that counts. Despite his actions, Arthur really did have the best intentions - but good intentions aren't enough to salvage the tragic consequences of his selfish actions and that's a lesson he has to learn the hard way.

Your Sense of Adventure

So Writer's Digest had an interesting writing prompt awhile back but I never got a chance to do anything with it until about an hour ago. When I was finished, I was pretty happy with what I had, but it's about 100 words too long to be submitted and it's probably too late to submit it now anyway. But I couldn't stand the thought of just letting it sit there on my hard drive. Then I thought "Hey, wait a minute! I have a blog! What else is a blog for if not posting stuff that I'm proud of that no one else cares about?" So, here it is, my vignette:

Your Sense of Adventure

A friend rings your doorbell way too early in the morning to be ringing doorbells. You answer the door in your PJs, and the friend says, “Pack a bag quickly. I have to get out of here now and need you to come with me.” You are intrigued.

            Instantly awake, you say, “Okay. Give me a minute.”

Obviously it takes you more than a minute. Your friend waits at your bedroom door, impatiently tapping her toe and constantly checking the door and the windows as you hastily throw anything and everything you might need into an overnight bag.

“Ready?” She asks as soon as you zip up the bag.

“Ready. Where are we going?”

            “West. As far away from here as we can get and as fast as we can get there.”

            You think fleetingly of the school, your students. You’ll miss them. But will they miss you? After all, they’re only third-graders. Once the school realizes you’re not coming in, the class will be assigned a substitute teacher. Some poor substitute who will now have a permanent, full-time job. You silently wish the unknown teacher all the best as you gladly throw away your job, your career, everything you have, and head to the garage with your friend on your heels.

            The Honda does not exactly have a reputation for making a great get-away vehicle, but it’ll have to do. As your friend heads towards the car you turn and start to lock the door behind you before asking yourself “Why bother?” You can’t come back. Whatever your friend is running from, it’s dangerous and, if it’s got her this freaked, she can’t ever return. You deciding to join her means you can’t ever return. With a shrug, you turn from your unlocked door and hop in the driver’s seat, your stomach doing massive back-flips as you turn the key in the ignition.

            Tires screech against pavement as you back out of your garage and head down the driveway, away from your beautiful townhouse.

            Behind you, the sun is rising. You feel as if you are running away from it. This feeling is enhanced by the way your friend continues to glance over her shoulder. Every car you encounter on the road makes her flinch.

            You get on the nearest ramp to get on the high way and continue heading west. The sun is already fully risen and well on its way upward by the time your friend starts giving you directions. You have no plan so, if she has one, you might as well follow it – this being her escape and all.

            By the time she tells you to get off the highway you realize you recognize this place. You’ve been here before. Frantically, you search your memory but your mind and body are still too full of the excitement of the moment to try and worry about the past.

            Then, as she instructs you to turn left onto a dirt road, seemingly in the middle of nowhere, you remember the last time you were here. You start to slow down as you wonder just what, exactly, is going on here?

            “Sheila? When have you ever been here?”

            Sheila turns to you with a sheepish grin as she admits that the game is up.

            You reach the old, familiar cabin, with that familiar figure standing on the front porch, holding his mug of coffee. You slam on the brakes and stop in the middle of the road.

            “I’m sorry, but you never would have agreed to do this, so I had to, well, appeal to your sense of adventure.”

            “Oh, you are so dead.”

Haha! And You Thought We Were Done With Harry Potter

Sorry but, apparently, J.K. Rowling just couldn't stop writing about Harry and the world of wizards. After having finished the seventh Harry Potter book and sending it off to all the printing houses, eagerly awaiting their chance to make millions and millions of copies, she appeared to have gotten Harry Potter withdrawal because she went on to write The Tales of Beedle the Bard as well as two Hogwarts schoolbooks. Honestly, I'm surprised that's all she wrote because, judging by the number of times she references them in her other books, it sounds like she could have easily written A History of Magic and Hogwarts, A History. As it is, I will use this final Harry Potter post to discuss the remaining three books, due to the fact that they are all so short.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard
I give you fair warning: for each and every one of these books I have to discuss how impressed I am by the extent to which Rowling has built her own world. That goes for the book of fairy tales as well, of course, starting with the fact that Harry and Hermione had never heard any of these tales and Ron had never heard of Cinderella. I deeply appreciate the fact that the fairy tales bear some definite similarities to our Muggle fairy tales while retaining the obvious differences. I am also in awe of the fact that Dumbledore (in his notes on the book) mentioned some of the different versions that certain fairy tales had gone through. I love this particularly because it is so true of stories which are so old that nobody can remember where they came from or how the original went. Of course, there's also the anti-Muggle factor infused into some of these stories and that, too, is typical of any stories which have lasted a considerable amount of time. Just as we have had certain books banned over the centuries, so certain wizards decided to modify stories with a moral which doesn't appeal to them in order to preach a moral more to their liking (which, I guess, defeats the purpose of the original story). I was also grateful to finally get a distinction between "wizard" and "warlock". I had been wondering about that.

Quidditch Through the Ages
Here I give Rowling enormous credit, not only for inventing an exciting and entirely original game played exclusively on broomsticks, but also for: inventing a history of the game, including a reason for the invention of the Snitch; numerous other games played on broomsticks several centuries ago, before Quidditch gained popularity; and the invention and progression of the flying broomstick. While a broomstick was supposedly chosen as a flying vessel because it was such an inconspicuous object (easily hidden or explained in a wizard's or witch's home in the days of witch hunts) I don't see how it's any less conspicuous than any piece of furniture, such as the flying carpets that the witches and wizards of the east are more fond of. However, things like that often have an arbitrary beginning and then, after centuries of doing it a certain way, it comes to appear to be the most natural solution, so I'm okay with it. 

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
I love everything about this book from the fact that she came up with, not only 75 different creatures, but also, in some instances, variations within those species. Dragons alone come in 10 different varieties and Rowling took the time to invent and describe them all. I especially appreciate the explanations provided in this book as to why Muggles are unaware of these creatures. Obviously things like dragons and unicorns maintain a presence in our folklore, but have you ever wondered why your garden isn't infested with gnomes that you need to spin around until dizzy and then throw as far away from your house as possible? I did, and this book gives a believable (as believable as a book about wizards can be) explanation for it. My favorite part of this book was the doodlings and sarcastic notes left by Harry and friends. They only help to further cement their personalities, which Rowling expertly manages to showcase, even in such a confined outlet.

And there you have it: an expertly well-crafted story, full of vivid characters that we both love and love to hate, set in an incredibly well-built world which is simultaneously fantastical and based in reality.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

by J. K. Rowling

My least favorite Harry Potter book. I'm sorry, but most of them running around in the woods looking for Horcruxes is pretty slow-moving. Also Harry whines way too much about Dumbledore not telling him every little detail about his personal life. I agree with EVERYONE when they tell Harry not to let Rita Skeeter's book about Dumbledore sully Harry's memory of Dumbledore. Harry argues that he wants to know the truth. Valid concern but, um, Harry, we've already dealt with the lovely Miss Skeeter, remember? She wrote horrible, horrible lies about you and your friends, then turned around and wrote the truth only because it was the only way to get her job back. Dude, she writes what sells and Dumbeldore The Great just died so, guess what's going to sell? A book further enumerating all of his wonderful deeds? Not so much. So how does finding out the truth have anything to do with reading anything Rita Skeeter wrote ever?

Harry also needs to give teenagers a break. His world is shattered when he sees his father bullying Snape and I do understand that, up to a point. Like I said, he idolized his parents so, realizing that they weren't always the heroic do-gooders must have been hard. When Sirius tries to explain that they were just kids, Harry points out that they were Harry's age. He does the same thing when people talk about young Dumbledore doing some questionable things. What Harry fails to understand is that he is an exceptional teenage boy. That's not to say that he's perfect or that he doesn't make mistakes. In some ways he is a perfectly normal teenage boy (please see afore-mentioned angst). But Harry has had to grow up much too fast. His parents died shortly after his first birthday, his aunt, uncle, and cousin mistreated and abused him for ten years until he got to leave for Hogwarts. Then, at Hogwarts, he discovers Voldemort who keeps trying to kill him. Not exactly a normal childhood and all of that helped make Harry into the extraordinarily brave and generous person that he is. However, most teenagers aren't like that because they haven't had to deal with any of those awful experiences. I know I did some dumb things when I was a teenager and I would hate to think that anyone would hold those things against me decades from now.

I also dislike this book because the ending is so extremely sappy it makes me want to puke. I know Rowling had been building up to that "love conquers all" cliche for awhile, but I still think she laid it on way too thick at the end. I seriously considered skipping the epilogue this time around because I hate it so much. Although, I'll admit that I'm glad I didn't because it wasn't as bad as the first time I read it.

Ok, time to talk about things I did like: MRS. WEASLEY! Mrs. Weasley popping up out of nowhere to get Bellatrix away from Ginny is classic and I love it to bits! I give her extra points for doing this immediately after having lost a son. Most people would crumble under that grief but Mrs. Weasley gets right back up and in the action. I'm sure she'll crumble later but she recognizes that there is a time and a place for that, but that is neither here nor now. Also, FRED! How heart-wrenching was that death? I could not believe it when I read it for the first time. Fred and George were both so full of life and so cavalier about everything it seemed impossible that they could die - as if their refusal to admit that this was all very much a life-threatening situation could protect them. Compared to the death of Fred, it was easy to let go of Lupin and Tonks, especially since I was so mad at Tonks for heading into the action when she had a baby to look after! I can't forgive her for abandoning her son like that and, honestly, I don't find it very believable. While Tonks's love for her husband is admirable and touching, it shouldn't be forgotten that Mother Nature has programmed us women with some pretty heavy-duty hormones once we give birth and those normally kick in so that a mother's first concern is keeping her child safe. Dad can look after himself.

All-in-all this is an excellent series and I thoroughly enjoyed re-visiting it. I'll have to make sure not to wait so long before doing so again!

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

by J.K. Rowling

I have to start with the beginning of this book.  I deeply appreciated that we get a scene between the Muggle Prime Minister and the Minister of Magic.  Upon thinking about it for a bit, it makes sense that the two would need to communicate.  After all, leaders of different countries need to communicate.  But the wizarding world and the Muggle world are normally kept so strictly separate and the wizards normally stress the importance of hiding from Muggles to the point where I hadn't thought the Minister of Magic would ever tell the current Prime Minister about wizards.  I really felt for the poor guy when it turned out that everything that had been inexplicably going wrong for the past two weeks and blamed on him was not actually his fault.  Instead, it was the work of a powerful evil wizard.  The feeling of triumph combined with the knowledge that he can never tell people the truth is terribly frustrating and I think we've all felt that injustice at one point or another.

I also like the scene in which Snape makes the Unbreakable Vow.  I'm glad that we get to see a bit of how hard being a double agent really is.  Aside from Dumbledore, no one at Hogwarts really trusts Snape and, aside from Voldemort (and, apparently, Mrs. Malfoy) none of the Death Eaters really trust him.  He constantly has to come up with explanations to satisfy both sides, all the while meticulously guarding his expressions so as not to give anything away.  Mrs. Malfoy begging him to make the Unbreakable Vow would appear to force Snape to choose the side of Voldemort definitively but, of course, Snape and Dumbledore find a way out of even that, albeit not an easy way.

I must confess it had been so long since I had read this book that I had forgotten who the Half-Blood Prince really was.  I was thinking it might even have been Voldemort.  Unlike Harry, I never suspected he wasn't evil although I can't blame Harry for continuing to use the book.  If I had mistakenly ended up with a book that included all the answers I totally would have used it.  Of course Hermione wanted Harry to stop using it but, in this case, I don't think it was strictly her love of rules.  I agree with Harry when he says that she just couldn't stand being shown up in a class.  I did, however, like Hermione insisting on the possibility that the Half-Blood Prince could have been a girl. Even though it said "Prince" she refused to give up and finally found that article about the witch whose last name was "Prince".

Most of all I love this book for the background we get on Voldemort and his Horcruxes.  As a psych major I diagnose Tom Riddle, in my unprofessional opinion, as a sociopath.  He certainly has all of the symptoms.  He forms no bonds with other people and it's not just because he doesn't want to trust them, it's because he is completely incapable of forming any such bonds.  Even as a child he kills animals and frightens his classmates for fun and those are both classic signs of young sociopaths.  Then, at Hogwarts, he shapes up because it benefits him to do so.  He sucks up to the right people to get what he wants and those are also classic signs of a sociopath.

So here's my problem: I don't think Voldemort would have been able to create a Horcrux because to do so requires tearing apart one's soul and I don't think Voldemort had a soul to tear.  I realize that this can lead to a whole huge discussion on the definition of a soul and it'll never get us anywhere because there is no single definition of a soul.  In my opinion, however, a soul is necessary to form bonds with other people.  People talk about "soul-mates" and being able to see into another person's soul and I don't believe anybody would ever have been able to say that of Voldemort.  I think a person looking into his eyes would not have found anything substantial looking back at them.

Also, YAY GINNY!  I loved watching the steady progression of Harry's feelings as Ginny goes from Ron's little sister to a friend that Harry forgets doesn't hang out with them regularly, to the girl of Harry's dreams.  I also enjoy Harry struggling with these feelings as he realizes Ron will probably want to murder him if any of his fantasies were to come true.  It's a real dilemma but, of course, to the reader who's been paying attention, Ron has already indicated a desire to see Ginny with Harry back at the end of the fifth book when they're on the train from Hogwarts and Ginny has talked about ditching one boy in favor of another.  I also love Ginny for yelling at Dean when she thinks he's trying to help her through the Gryffindor porthole.  Ginny is not one for chivalry and it's one of the many reasons I love her.

Speaking of dating I have to take a moment to say I much I enjoyed Ron's "relationship" with Lavender.  It was so typical of a first relationship in that it was driven purely by hormones and nothing else, as is evident by Lavender's Christmas gift to Ron of a gold necklace.  Ron's hesitance to break up with her is also so typical of a teenage boy.  Really, what's so hard about it?  When Harry realizes he has to break up with Ginny he turns around and does it right away.  And he still likes her!

Finally.  Dumbledore.  Oh, Dumbledore.  Reading the end of this book is still heart-wrenching.  It's so hard to accept that someone who seemed like a permanent presence, an unstoppable force, is really only mortal and cannot, in fact, always be there to help you.  I honestly don't know how Harry can stand it, having watched Cedric die, then his godfather, and then Dumbledore, over the past three years.  Just putting one foot in front of the other after all that must require a monumental effort.  Rowling, of course, talks about some of this, but she brushes past it pretty quickly and I understand why.  Voldemort is still at large and she has a story to finish writing.  Harry can't stop now.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

by J. K. Rowling

I really enjoyed this one, which kind of surprised me because everyone I know who has read this series multiple times told me this was their least favorite.  Well, it's not mine.  I loved it.  Things really started to heat up in the last book and this book hits the ground running with a dementor attack.  And the hearing at the Ministry of Magic is excellent because I had so much appreciation of Rowling's attention to detail as Harry and Mr. Weasley make their way down the levels of  the Ministry to the proper floor and each department on each floor is called out as they descend.  Rowling had to think of each and every one of those departments and it just boggles my mind.  I have no idea if they just sprang into her brilliant head or if she had to sit down and painstakingly think of various uses for a Ministry of Magic but, either way, I was thoroughly impressed.  I was also impressed by the inter-office memos which are just pieces of parchment that fly about the building because owls left droppings everywhere.  Rowling had to think of that!  Of course birds are messy but Rowling had to take the time to think about that fact, apply it to the situation, and come up with a solution!  She's amazing!

I also loved reading about the Order of the Phoenix and Harry hanging out in Sirius's house although it was weird that the book is almost half-way through before Harry ever actually gets to Hogwarts.  I think that's a sign that Hogwarts is no longer a major player in this series.  Despite the fact that the series was designed to have seven books, spanning seven years, all of which are supposed to be Harry's education at Hogwarts, this is the first book where Hogwarts really takes a back seat.  Even with their impending O.W.L. exams Harry's mind is more and more on Sirius, the Order, and Voldemort, and who can blame him?

Besides, Hogwarts this year is actually not fun thanks to the tyrant Dolores Umbridge.  I love her.  She is just so evil.  She's the villain we love to hate and she makes it so easy by being just unbelievably despicable every chance she gets.  I love that she surrounds herself with little pink doilies and porcelain plates with kittens painted on them because it contrasted so sharply with the black hole where her heart should be.  You would expect someone who surrounds themselves with pink frills to be soft and cuddly but Umbridge is most certainly anything but.  I also took great delight in watching Umbridge go head to head with McGonagall.  DON'T MESS WITH MCGONAGALL!  SHE WILL DESTROY YOU!  I think the best part was McGonagall utterly ignoring Umbridge despite her little coughs.  It showed so clearly that she just could not care less what Umbridge thought or did and that was, of course, the best way to piss off Umbridge and watching Umbridge squirm when there was nothing she could do about it was thoroughly satisfying.

Poor Harry and his extra lessons with Snape.  No one deserves such a cruel fate.  But I love the history that we get here, both on Snape and on Harry's father.  It makes me feel sorry for Snape but it still does not excuse the way he treats Harry.  Dude needs to learn to let things go.  But this is a huge moment for Harry.  He had idolized his parents (the poor guy had never met them and they had died saving his life from the Biggest Baddest Wizard of them all, of course he idolized them) and here we get to see that James, at least, was not everything Harry had thought him.  He was, in fact, no better than Dudley, picking on Snape because he and his friends were bored.  It is easy to excuse their actions.  They were, after all, only teenagers and teenagers will do stupid things but, as Harry points out, he is a teenager and the thought of doing what his father did without any provocation whatsoever horrifies him.  That's rough.

Harry is extra busy this year.  On top of his extra lessons with Snape, Harry also takes up teaching a group of students Defense Against the Dark Arts due to the utter uselessness of Umbridge's lessons.  I think this is excellent for so many reasons.  1) It's a deliberate snub to Umbridge and it made me proud of them that they pulled it off for so long without getting caught, 2) It's necessary.  Dude, Voldemort is back.  It's time to suit up already!  3) Harry appears to be a good teacher and, in the year when they're all starting to think about what they want to pursue as a career I wonder why he doesn't consider teaching because he also seems to enjoy it.

Finally, Cho Chang.  Aw, Harry's first crush.  I enjoyed reliving all of those wonderful/awful moments awkward teenagers go through in these situations.  I especially liked how utterly clueless Harry is here because, as a girl, I could see exactly what Cho was doing and why, but I could also understand Harry's confusion and watching him try to blunder through it all was highly amusing.  I particularly loved Hermione trying to explain Cho's side of things to Harry and where he had gone wrong and his response of utter incomprehension.  The whole situation is such a perfect example of the differences between boys and girls, so I give Rowling major points for successfully capturing the attitude and mistakes of a typical teenage boy.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

by J.K. Rowling

Oh, my god I love this book.  I know I said I think the third one was my favorite but I might have to remedy that.  This book just has so much more going on in terms of action and clues and mysteries that get introduced as early as the Quidditch World Cup and don't get solved until the very end but they all intertwine and make for a great read.

Firstly, I love the Quidditch World Cup.  Rowling absolutely captures the atmosphere of a major sporting event and I love the way in which she works elements of her own world into this event to help create that atmosphere.  Things like leprechauns flying into the air to form words and pictures to mock their opponents is, of course, extremely reminiscent of the sorts of things we Muggles do with our technology.  But, as usual, Rowling has managed to take that sort of thing and put her own twist on it.  And I will never forget the wizard wearing a nightdress because he prefers a healthy breeze 'round his privates!

Magical things I love in this book: Portkeys.  How awesome would it be if these things actually existed?  Also, I love the way in which Rowling introduces us to this particular bit of magic early in the book so that when it plays a major role towards the end of the book, she doesn't have to waste time explaining what just happened.  Harry (and, consequently, her reader) has already been made to understand;  Dumbledore's Pensieve (again, how cool would it be if this actually existed?); Rita Skeeter's quill. I'm not going to lie, I totally want one of those.  I would love to have a quill which just hangs in the air and writes down everything I say only more entertaining.  I also love the way in which Rowling makes fun of journalists and the fact that you can never believe what you read in the paper, whether you're in the Muggle world or at Hogwarts.  This is also the first time we really see Harry struggling with fame he never asked for.

I just have to take a moment to say GO HERMIONE!  Not because she's so smart and just generally awesome (I think that goes without saying) but because she proved that the nerd can get the jock once in awhile!  Krum was actually kind of adorable in his supremely awkward way and it made me like him so much more when he went after Hermione rather than showing up at Hogwarts with each arm draped over a gorgeous blond.

By the end of the book I was kind of traumatized.  And I had already read it and seen the movie!  But, upon re-reading, I was extraordinarily impressed with Crouch Jr.'s ability to fool even Dumbledore that he was really Mad-Eye Moody and to make it seem as though he were on Harry's side.  That would take some serious skill and, if I were Harry, I don't think I would ever be able to trust anyone ever again after having been through that.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

by J. K. Rowling

This is probably my favorite Harry Potter book. I love Sirius Black and I love Professor Lupin. He really is the best Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher EVER! I think I really appreciate Black, not just because he's awesome, but because I love that Harry finally has something like a real family. He has a godfather who knew Harry's dad, grew up with him, loved him dearly, and so loves Harry just as dearly. It's probably at least part of the reason I don't like the last two books as much. I have to admit that I wanted Harry to move in with Black and live happily ever after but then, of course, we wouldn't have the Dursleys and it just wouldn't be a Harry Potter book without the Dursleys.

Magical things I love in this book: the Marauder's Map and, of course, chocolate. Something I had forgotten because I don't think it's in the movies is, when you've been around dementors, the best cure is chocolate. So the dementors suck out all of your happiness and make you feel despair and the cure for that is chocolate? I think Rowling has just proven one of my life-long theories!

I also appreciate that, even in a world where magic exists, Rowling still can't get behind Divination as legitimate. Her description of Professor Trelawney is exactly the kind of person you would expect to find trying to charge you money in order for her to "look into your future". But I also appreciated that she had Lavender and Parvati as her little groupees. They honestly thought she could see into the future and, every time she did, they found ways to justify it. I love it because people do that because they want to believe and they just won't listen to the voice of reason (in this case, Hermione). And again I have to take a moment to applaud the casting here. I can't stand Professor Trelawney but I always, always, always love Emma Thompson! She took this role and ran with it!

I also like the Snape character development in this book. I'll admit that, upon first reading these books, I had my doubts about whether Snape was really a good guy until the very end. This book shows some of the basis for that doubt when he has his own version of what happened at the Shrieking Shack and he tries to send Black back to Azkaban. On the one hand, he's held a grudge against Black since they were sixteen and that's just too long to hold a grudge. On the other hand, Black's little prank would have been fatal for Snape had Potter Sr. not intervened, and an attempt on one's life is not something one can let go so I can forgive Snape for that. I cannot forgive him for trying to sentence an innocent man to a fate worse than death. So, while I have been convinced that Snape is not a bad guy, I have decided that he's not really a good guy either. He has his faults.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

by J.K. Rowling

I still love re-reading this series, knowing how it all turns out. When I first read them I couldn't understand why everyone was saying that Ron and Hermione need to get together. Upon re-reading it's so obvious I can't even believe how thick I was, and yes, I say "thick" now. That's what happens when you read too much of a British author in one go. Next it'll be "daft". While Harry is just as much Hermione's friend as Ron is, Ron is the one always losing his temper every time Draco insults Hermione. Admittedly that could just be Ron's personality - maybe he's just more hot-headed than Harry. But, then again, we haven't seen him be hot-headed at all except when it comes to Hermione. Yep. I was daft.

Moving on. Magical things I love in this book: The Womping Willow. Who could forget the Womping Willow? And the car which drove off on its own after dumping Ron and Harry on the lawn in front of the school. I like the fact that enchanting a normally inanimate object also seems to give it a personality of its own. And the howler. Oh, the howler. I love this because, if it were available in our world, you know every parent everywhere would be using it every single time their children misbehaved. And, once again, I must say how much I love the character development - it's so easy to hear Mrs. Weasley's voice screaming through that envelope.

As long as I'm back on the topic of character development I should take a moment to mention how much I deeply appreciated a scene in the beginning where Mrs. Weasley is yelling at her son's, all of whom are taller than her, but still cower under her wrath. It reminds me of my own mother. I also cannot say how much I love Lucius Malfoy. In the scene towards the end where he storms into Dumbledore's office he almost comes off the page, he is so vividly described and clearly has such a presence. And I can't help but take a moment to say how much I adore the casting here. Jason Isaacs is perfection. Always.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

By J.K. Rowling

HARRY POTTER TIME!

See?  I told you I'd read something more interesting next.

First off I have to say that there will probably be spoilers for this and every Harry Potter post because if you haven't read Harry Potter yet, or at least seen the movies, then that is something you need to remedy immediately.  I'm serious.  Right now.  Turn off your computer, find a book store or library, and start reading.

I first read this book right before the first movie came out, got caught up with the books that were published at that point (I don't remember how many there were by then) and read the remaining books as they came out.  I just recently decided it was time to go back and re-read them.  Excellent idea.  While the movies largely stay true to the books there are still things I missed, such as Peeves.  And it was fun to read knowing the full truth (such as the fact that Snape really is a good guy) and seeing all the places where the characters are just plain wrong.

As fantasy goes I have always deeply appreciated the fact that Rowling used a main character who was entirely new to the world she was building as it made it that much easier for her to introduce us to her world.  As Harry encounters new aspects of this strange and fascinating world, the characters around him have to explain things to him and, thereby, to us, the reader.  It's brilliant and, I think, particularly well-suited to a children's book.

I also love her characters.  One perfect example is while Harry is getting measured for his robes, he meets a snobby blond boy.  We don't get the boy's name until much later but it's so obviously Draco Malfoy that it made me love how individual each and every one of Rowling's characters are.  Not only are they all visually striking in their own unique ways, but they all have such strong personalities and characteristics which are so uniquely their own that it's incredibly easy to know who's who as soon as they're introduced.

All-in-all: excellent book.  Excellent world-building.  Excellent character development.  Read it.  Read it now.  Even if you already have.

A Most Dangerous Method

by John Kerr

I read this book for 2 reasons: 1) I saw that the movie was coming out and I was intrigued.  Okay, I'll admit it, I wanted to read a book about a woman who slept with both Jung and Freud.  Of course I knew a non-fiction book about the development of psychological methods wasn't going to be anything like a movie made for entertainment but I still wanted to see what the book had to offer.  2) I majored in psychology and, since graduating, have decided that I should read a non-fiction book every once in awhile to keep my mind from turning to mush.  So this fulfills my learning quota for a while.  Glad I got that out of the way.

The result: I had no idea men are such babies!  I mean, I know men are babies but this is just ridiculous!

Freud, already an established genius in the new world of psychoanalysis, takes the younger but equally brilliant Jung under his wing.  My problem with Freud has always been that he thought that EVERYTHING was about sex.  Really?  Everything?  That and the fact that his methods were so glaringly unscientific.  I was relieved in this book to find that even his contemporaries complained about these things.  Jung included.

Poor Jung had his own theories about psychoanalysis.  Many of them were directly in line with some of Freud's theories, some were not.  Rather than discuss these differences the poor young Carl felt that he had to adjust his theories (or, at least, adjust how he presented them) in order to match Freud's theories.  He felt that Freud, being older and so well established in his position as the father of psychoanalysis, couldn't possibly be argued with.  I can understand this, given his position, but I still wish Jung had stuck to his guts from the beginning.

However, Freud did not take criticism well.  He adopted this very immature "you're either with me or against me" attitude and anyone who differed from his theories or found fault in any of his work was decidedly against him.  When Jung finally got up the balls to stand up to Freud and put forward his own views, their relationship finally ended.  Apparently, after having agreed to end the friendship, some of the papers they published were meant to be little jabs at each other.  I'm sorry, but are they twelve-year-old girls?  Because that's all I could think while I was reading this!

Well, as it turns out, we have absolutely no proof that Spielrein slept with either of them.  There is quite a bit to suggest that she did sleep with Jung - at the very least the two had some very deep feelings for each other - but I see absolutely no evidence that she did anything of the kind with Freud.  None of her correspondence with Freud struck me as anything but professional.

My favorite part of this book was learning about Sabina Spielrein.  Yes she was a little crazy but she also had some brilliant theories of her own and she wasn't afraid to publish them.  Even when she was Jung's patient she argued with him over her diagnosis - and argued well (this in an era when the shrink is always right).  She did gradually move from Jung's school of thought to Freud's and, as mentioned, she did maintain correspondence with Freud but, even then, her own ideas were her own - not to be easily swayed - and that made her my favorite person in this book.

I'll read something more interesting next.  Promise.

Dead as a Doornail

by Charlaine Harris

So I'm currently in the middle of a rather large non-fiction book and needed a break about half-way through.  Naturally, I decided Sookie would be just what I needed.

Of course, I was right.  It was the light, mindless read I needed.  This is the fifth in Harris's series and, while I thoroughly enjoyed the first four, this one (although fun) was certainly not my favorite.  The thing that frustrated me the most is I'm pretty sure Harris has started to lose track of (or just outright ignore) certain previously established aspects of her main character.  I've already given away the first four books (as much as I enjoy them I'm sure I'll never re-read them) so I had no way to go back and look it up, but I'm pretty sure Sookie had already learned to block other people's thoughts from her own mind before she met Bill.  In this book she states that the best part about dating Bill was that she had learned to do just that.  Wrong!  The best part of dating Bill was that, because she couldn't read his thoughts, she could let her guard down.  The other bit that annoyed me was that Harris had established that Sookie cannot read the minds of shifters: she can pick up general feelings and moods from them but no specific thoughts.  Ok, I can buy that.  Yet, in this book, she gets a rather detailed fashion tip by picking it up from a shifter's brain.  I understand that Sookie's telepathy comes in handy in solving her supernatural crimes and just generally picking up information from the people around her.  It's a tool and I'm all for using it to it's fullest advantage but I also believe that a writer needs to stay consistent with the world she's building.

That being said, there were some things I definitely enjoyed.  Harris is great at character-building and that skill once again makes itself apparent, particularly in the new vampire, Charles.  I loved him and I loved reading about him.  I also enjoyed the development of the relationship between Sookie and Eric and, of course, I was glad to see Bubba again, however briefly (the biggist downfall of the show is that there's no Bubba! I can understand that they probably couldn't get permission, but I'm just sayin'!)  Harris also excels at the suspenseful scenes.  There are several in this book that I just couldn't tear myself away from and they were, without doubt, the strongest and most interesting parts of this book.

Blankets

by Craig Thompson

This was my first experience reading a graphic novel and I absolutely loved it.  The entire thing was so beautiful.  The story it told was beautiful and I found the ending to be incredibly satisfying.  I also thought the artwork was beautiful but I am not a dependable art critic, given that I can't draw to save my life, so I tend to think that anything more than stick figures is beautiful.  But, more than the talent of the artist, I appreciated the way many of the drawings were used to convey metaphors (an early scene where Craig is vomiting up his drawings is a good example).  I also enjoyed the way in which blankets were a recurring theme throughout the book, not just in the blanket Raina made for Craig but, from the very beginning, when Craig was sharing a bed with his little brother.  The word takes on several different meanings in the course of the book and I really enjoyed that.

SPOILER ALERT!!!
I know I said in an earlier post that I wanted to avoid spoilers on this blog but I have since changed my mind.  I have decided that I prefer using this blog to talk as in-depth about the books I read as I like.  That being said, while the love story in this book made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside and I thoroughly enjoyed it, it wasn't hard to tell where it was going.  Craig's extremely reverential view of Raina was incredibly romantic but not terribly realistic and not actually a healthy basis for a relationship.  I predicted her feeling intimidated by his overwhelming feelings almost as soon as they met.  However, I was still sad when she broke up with him but I was pleasantly surprised at the way Craig dealt with it.  I was expecting him to crumble and crawl inside of himself and never come out again but instead he dealt with it like a grown up.  I was so proud of him when he called to tell her good-bye and I cheered for him when he burned all of her things but I was also glad he didn't burn the blanket (I can't imagine how long that must have taken her to make).

I also thoroughly enjoyed the religious aspect.  I won't lie about being concerned for young Craig.  I was glad that he was able to find solace in religion from the bullying he endured but it worried me that he took every single thing he did wrong so seriously - that can do a lot of damage to a kid.  So I was glad when he started questioning aspects of the Christianity he was being taught and I was ultimately thrilled with his conclusion to continue believing in God and the teachings of Jesus but not in churches.  I personally think that's the best way to go and it particularly made sense for him.  I absolutely loved the last few pages of the book because they were beautiful and I hated that, for the rest of the book, there were characters trying to tell me that nothing I do matters.

DISCLAIMER:
I am in NO WAY anti-Christian! Nor do I think that Christianity is damaging to children!  While I don't practice myself, I fully believe that if going to church works for you then, by all means, go to church - whatever church that may be.  Please don't come and murder me in my sleep.