Lost In Austen

I've spent the last 5 days in Maine, doing nothing but reading, sleeping, eating, and looking for moose (I saw a baby mooseling, by the way, very exciting). Now, you should know that as I live not far from The Strand, I have a stack of books about as tall as I am that I got for 48 cents and have not gotten around to reading. So I brought about 15 books with me, and finished about half.

Two of the books that were most interesting to me were Pride and Prescience and The Jane Austen Book Club. They were incredibly different, and I was drawn to aspects of both.



I loved the characters in The Jane Austen Book Club. One of the things I found most amusing and enjoyable was the fact that it was written in first person, as though one of the members of the book club was telling the story, although the person mentions every member of the club by first name, seldom revealing who is speaking. Only through a story is the narrator given up, and even then you are left wondering if that's really who narrated the entire novel. It's a very curious thing.

I was pretty unhappy with the ending though. It was definitely an Austen ending, that's for sure, but there's no need to refer to that same point in the course of the book. Any Janeite would pick it up for his or herself. This brings me to my other disappointment. I won't give specifics in case you want to read the book, or even watch the movie, but I was extremely bothered by the way the Sylvia/Daniel and Allegra/Corinne relationships were wrapped up. I felt that it was unrealistic and degrading to the members of the club who were involved in these relationships. Also, there were a few storylines that I felt never fully developed, and felt like hooks thrown in to grab the reader, yet never amounted to anything. It was rather disappointing. However, I loved the change in Prudie's spirits toward the end, and Jocelyn was a mystery I rather enjoyed unraveling. Overall, it was good, but not great. My favorite part was actually after the novel ended, where the author quoted other famed writers' opinions of Jane. Look up Mark Twain's if you get a chance...it's quite deep :)



Carrie Bebris' take on what happened after the Darcy's wedding in Pride and Prejudice was a total beach read, in a good way. It was light, witty, and very quick. Even though it was a mystery, it wasn't supremely out of the realm of my imagination that Elizabeth Bennet (now Darcy) would be curious enough to find herself in the midst of this chaos. I was a little baffled by the sci-fi/fantasy twist it took though. Very un-Jane, but it amused me nonetheless, and I definitely understood how that made it suitable for Tor, and it wasn't as noticeable during my read-through as much as after. Still I can't really recall a Jane Austen novel with supernatural elements. But I'd definitely read the rest of the series.



And I made it through a whole post without referencing vampires :)

Far From You

Last week, I picked up a bunch of new books from the Strand for 48 cents each. A great investment, if I do say so myself :) I spent this rainy Sunday afternoon reading Far From You by Lisa Schroeder.

This book is amazing! It's a less fantastical, updated version of the Alice in Wonderland tale, and it definitely hits home. This Alice is struggling to find her place in her father's family after her mother loses her battle with cancer. But when a snowstorm strikes while Alice, her stepmother Victoria, and her baby half-sister Ivy are driving home from a family trip, Alice learns that things (and people) aren't always what they seem.

I would highly recommend this book. It's written in verse, and it's got the YA coming of age and self-understanding themes in a funky and uplifting kind of way. It's enough to make you believe in happy endings again...although this ending was happily realistic, my favorite kind. Alice is an incredibly complex character, and so authentic, without being overtly teen-angsty over her struggles. Love it!

Feeling Blonde

Yesterday, before my trek home, I stopped by the library. Now let me preface this story by saying that in NYC, if you reserve a library book, the magical library elves shelve it next to the front desk based on the final four digits of your library card. So I went to the shelves, took out my keys (as I have a library card attached to my keys), and went looking for my books.

When I got to where my library books were supposed to be, there was...nothing. A gaping hole between the number before and the one about 50 after me. Surely the magical library elves didn't get it wrong, I thought to myself. Damn them! They should go back to making shoes for that man in that story! I could use some beautiful shoes (but that is another story entirely).

Nevertheless, I scanned and scoured the shelves, sure that I was making some critical error, and that the book was really and truly there. I stood watching, trying to ESP the book out of it's position slightly so I would notice it. Finally, the ever so helpful librarian lady asks me if I need any assistance.

Why yes, I said. I have requested a book and it is not here...I received the email and everything. The email fairy told me that the book would be here until June 13th (Mary Kate and Ashley's birthday), but it's only the 11th and it is already gone. It's like it disappeared.

The librarian gave me that patronizing smile of hers and said, we sort the library books by the last four digits of your library card. I was momentarily taken aback...was she in cahoots with the elves? Were they really not elves at all, but hobbit-like faux humans intent on educating the masses? And why was she telling me this when she could clearly see that I was looking at my library card?

I refrained from the first two questions, but I told her that I already knew the way books were sorted. However, I was looking at my library card, and I still could not find the book. Could she be of some assistance?

It turns out she could. She looks at me and says, that's not your library card.

I roll my eyes. How could she possibly be so stu-...oh. She's right. It's not my library card. It's my gym membership card.

Trying to recover my wits, I say, sorry, it's Friday.

She gives me the patronizing smile again, but says nothing.

I realize that it's only Thursday. Damn. Why don't the voices in my head ever say anything when I need them to?

Laughing it off, I say, it just goes to show how often I use my gym membership. She laughs too, but I feel like she is laughing at me. I wonder if it's against the law to smack a hobbit upside the head for pissing you off. Are there laws against assaulting fictional characters? Probably not.

She checks out my book, and I exit the library, feeling impossibly small and infinitely stupider than when I arrived.

The end

***Disclaimer: No animals, hobbits, elves or librarians were harmed in the making of this blog.

The Secret Circle

So I just finished reading this series called "The Secret Circle" and I have to say, I'm pretty impressed. LJ Smith is probably one of the most underrated YA novelists. I thought the Vampire Diaries were very well written, and that was back before I realized that they came out before the Twilight series, meaning that they were also mostly original (and leading me to believe that Stephenie Meyer is not as ignorant of vampire lore as she says she is...hmm). The Secret Circle series was even better, although I'm a little disappointed about the way it ends. Nick and Deborah are my two favorite characters in this series, and I felt like they could have used some more time in the spotlight. Especially Nick. I also thought that Adam was totally boring and kind of a pansy, whereas Nick was more of a man. But I guess totally boring and pansy-ish is in nowadays. At least in the literary world. In a world where Bella Swan would have picked Edward Cullen over trying for Jasper Hale...yes, boring and pansy-ish is definitely the latest trend.

Please, God, do not let me write about lame boys. Oh, and none of that "the bad guy is your father" crap either. So overdone.

So to recap: my next book is going to be about a girl who dates the dullest guy on the planet and finds out that her dad is evil. Not.

Shadow Kiss

PS I know, I'm a huge book nerd, but if you are into this whole Twilight obsession, you should check out the Vampire Academy series. I have loved it from the beginning, but book 3 was just released and I may die of curiosity before the next one comes out in July. Shadow Kiss, the third installment, was one of the most masterful YA series novels that I have read in a long time. Everything about it was just spot on. The pacing...the character development was flawless. I won't spoil it for you, but it doesn't look like there is a happy ending in store for ANYONE in the series :( I don't know how Richelle Mead is going to write her way out of this one, and with only 2 books left, but if anyone can do it, it would be her.

Also recommended: The Bean Trees, Ink Exchange and Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. Time to put that library card to good use (just don't listen to the guy putting away books and put your books on the cart by the door. That is not the RETURNS cart, it's the GIVEAWAY cart. And then you owe the library $90 and your soul. True story.) or even your CC.