Garden Spells

In Bascom, things are not normal. This suits Claire Waverley perfectly. After a childhood on the road with her unreliable mother, she's glad to have a place to put down roots and stay put, even though her legacy is a strange one. Her garden blooms out of season, the food she makes can bring special powers to the people who eat it, her aunt gives away things people need, before they need them, and the tree in the garden bears strange apples. Claire is happy with her beautiful, solitary life, no matter how much her new neighbor intrigues her. And then her sister Sydney returns, with her daughter.

The bad: There is one sensual scene, and I say sensual because everything is more implied in Allen's fairy-tale manner than stated.

The good: This story is about developing relationships based on love, making true friends, even though both Claire and Sydney have their troubles.

My view: I love this book. Reading it is like coming home to the best home you can imagine. Sarah Addison Allen's style is a delight to read. This is a beautiful fairy tale full of magic and mouthwatering food.

11 The Onion Girl

So, I know that you're not suppose to start a series on book eleven, but this is the one I picked up. I was intrigued first by the cover art, done by my favorite cover artist John Jude Palencar, and then I was interested in the story, a modern fantasy were everyday people find magic in this world and others, a plot line I find vastly interesting. Here's the story: Jilly, a returning character in this series (apparently), is an artist in the eclectic town of Newford. She always in motion, always joyful and she is well loved by everyone. But not everyone, after a hit and run that leaves her immobilized maybe her past is catching up with her in the form of a malevolent person, attacking her in this world, and the other.

The bad: Both Jilly and other main characters have had really rough lives, which are explored for the purpose of the book (whatever that is ; ).

The good: Interesting themes such as fate and chance are explored, which I always think of as a good thing. I also liked the sense of community that Newford offered, everyone had their place, quirks and talents. Everyone was accepted.

My view: I enjoyed reading The Onion Girl, and it had a lot of interesting things to ponder. But it wasn't spectacular, like I thought it might be. But I'll be reading more, maybe I'll even start at the beginning (a very good place to start).

The Host

The souls are the dominant species of the universe. This is because they take over the minds of those they invade. The Wanderer is a well travelled soul, and now she's going to Earth, one of the few planets she's never been to. As an experienced soul, she is surprised when she realises that her host isn't dormant. She is even more surprised when she so consumed by her host's emotions and memories that she ditches her entire way of living to pursue the people that inspire emotions in her host she (Wanderer) has never known.

The bad: Ms. Meyer really needs to find a new way to describe sensation other than "like fire." His touch was like fire... It burned like flames... It raced up her arm like a wildfire... PLEASE! Other than that, this is a pretty clean book.

The good: I liked the struggle that Wanderer went through (no, I'm no sadistic) as a passive member of a parasitic society. And there were other good (interesting) elements... Like true love, sacrifice, friendship, mercy, trust...

My view: As not a huge fan of the massive Twilight saga, I was wary of picking up an adult book of Stephenie Meyer. Though it did have the melodrama and tiring length (of a single book) of The Twilight Series, The Host was much better. The story was inventive, morally intriguing and easy to read.
My one word:

Savvy

Cold Mountain

Towards the end of the Civil War, Inman leaves the Confederate army and heads home to the mountains of North Carolina. Disillusioned by the bloody chaos of the war, he longs to return to the mountains of his happier youth, and to Ada. Along the way he encounters many dangers, companions, enemies, and hungers. Ada, left behind, faces her own journey.

The bad: Why do I always start with the bad stuff? Probably because I just want to get it out of the way. Anyhow, I would say that the worst thing (to me) was the fact that none of the dialog was in quotations, which made it hard to read. But it did give it a distinct flavor. There is no lack of mild swearing and a detailed description of a woman very explicitly throwing herself at Inman. Also Inman and companions get dead drunk a couple of times. And he isn't afraid to kill to get back to his mountain.

The good: No matter what Inman says about being ruined by the war, he maintains his honor on the road. He is fair to those he meets and helps those who he can.

My view: I first saw the movie Cold Mountain, which then inspired me to read the book. And since I loved the movie, I can be completely objective about the book. Some would call this book boring and vague, and if I was being my normal harsh self, I would have to agree, but I found this book gripping, fascinating and understated. The one complaint I have about it is that (being the hopeless romantic that I am) I liked the romance in the movie better. I didn't feel like the book really highlighted it enough, until the end.

Life of Pi

The flap of the book didn't give me any more of the story than something like 'A boy. A tiger. The Pacific ocean.' So I'm not really sure what to put as the summary without ruining the author's intention. Don't be deceived though, the cover is what the book is about. A boy and a tiger living on a life boat together after their ship sinks in the middle of the Pacific ocean. This is half a survival story and half a vague parable.

The bad: When I'm talking about survival, I mean survival. Pi eats and drinks everything there is to drink while on the life-boat. Everything, which turns out to be pretty gross in many cases.

The good: There isn't anything really "good" about this book...

My view: The woman who recommended this book to me also recommended The Sparrow and The Book Thief, so I guess I'm going to have to give her 1 out of 3 (sorry, but I really loved The Sparrow!). I know that this book is suppose to be some mythical self-discovery book, but I didn't get it. Either I missed something (unlikely :-) or this is just another one of those pretentious books which say that they are deep and moving simply because they are hard to understand.

The Sparrow

The year is 2019, and we watch as the charismatic Jesuit priest Emilio gathers a close group of friends. We watch as they discover aliens. We watch as they go to Rakhat. The year is 2059, we watch a broken and alone Emilio return to earth. Just as God watches the sparrow fall.

The bad: The actually is quite a bit of swearing. And the story doesn't shy away from the nitty-gritty of life. Spoiler ! There is one graphic rape scene! (I saw this idea of putting the spoiler in white so that you have to highlight it to see it and I though it was a wonderful idea, so now I'll be doing that.)

The good/My view: I don't really know how to distinguish the two, so I thought I would just put them together. I thought this was a shocking, awful, beautiful and challenging book. It's not an easy read, logistically (she keeps skipping around and not explaining things clearly) and because you know something awful is coming. This is a highly 'religious' book, but that is something that interests me. It deals with the question that plague us all, Why should we trust in (believe in) a God that lets horrible things happen? Ms. Russell says, "Either it's blind dumb luck, or God is vicious." Taken from the Bible passage in Matthue 10:29, "not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. " The title reminds us that the sparrow still falls. But why?

Mr. Darcy's Diary

Everyone knows the story of Pride and Prejudice (except my dad, he lived for years thinking that it was a study of pride and prejudice, ha ha), and now it's time to hear it from Mr. Darcy's view point. We travel through his journal starting with Georgiana's near miss with Mr. Wickham and going through Mr. Darcy's ups and downs concerning Miss Elizabeth Bennett.

The bad: hmmm, nada

The good: It's Pride and Prejudice... So true love! There is also of course both Mr. Darcy and Lizzy's realizations that they have been prideful and prejudiced.

My view: Whenever I go into B&N I'm always confronted by a multitude of books using a Pride and Prejudice theme to help them sell, and to be honest, a lot of those books look pretty scary and leave me thinking What have you done to Mr. Darcy and Lizzy? Thankfully Mr. Darcy's Diary preserves the feelings and integrity of the original story (and if anyone should know, it would be me, yes, I've done a report on Jane Austen, yes, I've seen the 5 hour movie version more than three times, yes, I have read Pride and Prejudice, and yes, I own two copies of the book and two different movie versions). Also, this book has balanced the characters really well, making both Mr. Darcy and Lizzy imperfect but lovable.

Mystic and Rider, A Favorite!

Trouble is brewing in the land of Gillengaria, and the King decides to send out his most trusted people to take the temperature of the land and report back. Does it matter that they seriously distrust each other? Nope. So Kings Riders Tasye and Justin are joined by the mystic Senneth and her mystic friends Kirra and Donnal, and if they pick up another mystic on the way, who cares?

The good stuff: Senneth is completely committed to justice, and she fights for those who have no power to fight for themselves. She also graciously puts up with Tasye, and more so Justin's distrust. Honor is important to Tasye and Justin, and no matter how much they dislike mystics, they do their jobs.

The not so hot stuff: Not really anything startling.

What I like about it: This book (and the others) are so full of warm relationships. Okay, it doesn't start that way, but you know it will end that way. As they journey, everyone discovers each other's strengths, and learn to respect them, and they become friends. I enjoy reading this book because it's like I become part of a small family of friends and the adventures they have.

Gaudy Night (Lord Peter Wimsey Series), A Favorite!

This book really represents all the Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries (though Gaudy Night is actually my favorite, you shouldn't just jump in here). So what you're really getting is a Lord Peter series review! Lucky you!
So the story is, Lord Peter is a wealthy British aristocrat with keen intelligence, a bumbling manner which hides his ruthlessness and a faithful manservant. So basically, he's the coolest. Jilted by his fiance (who isn't even in the stories, which is good, because who in their right mind would dump Lord Peter?), with a sense of public duty and a drive for truth Lord Peter investigates cases with aplomb and sophistication.

The good stuff: These books are full of fascinating ideas and interesting principles (which is pretty much a different way of saying the same thing). I've read them many times, and I still don't understand all of the things they're talking about, in a good way. And all the subject manner of the mysteries is not icky or anything.

The not so hot stuff: These books were written in the twenties and thirties for a twenties and thirties British audience. Even I (I consider myself to have a pretty good grasp on British culture, I mean, I watch BBC) sometimes have a hard time understanding quite what they are saying. Especially the references to literature! I've given up on those. Lord Peter isn't exactly a moral person, he admits freely to having several mistresses (in succession, not all at once).

Why I love it: the Lord Peter books are witty and amusing, with lots of memorable characters. The writing is delightful and full of my kind of humour (hehe). Lord Peter himself is fascinating, with strange combination of flippancy, urbanity, gravity and education. These delightful books are for any lover of British fiction, mysteries or aristocracy!