February Booklist

[eleneariel]

1. Chosen, PC and Kristin Cast

 

The anti-Christian message seems to get stronger with each book. The plot and characters are strong enough to carry the series without resorting to stereotyping and denigrating an entire religion, and it's disappointing to see the authors take the easy way out.

2. Fit Bodies, Fat Minds: why evangelicals don't think and what to do about it, Os Guinness

 

A quick read pointing out how far mainline protestantism has come from the deep thinkers of past centuries, but I didn't find much in the way of ideas for how to change that.

3. Whose Body, Dorothy L. Sayers (audio book from librivox.org)

 

I don't read enough Lord Peter books. Great British mysteries.

4. Stardust, Neil Gaiman

 

I recall hearing rumblings *looks in the general direction of equuschick * that the movie is far and away better than the book, but I found it a charming bit of storytelling with, perhaps, a childlike feel but a sprinkling of decidedly unchildlike content. If this is the way Gaiman can tell a story, however, then I need to explore his work more. The only other thing I've read (besides his collaboration with Terry Pratchett) is Coraline, which is also very good.

5. Villette, Charlotte Brontë

 

Okay, so I knew Villette wouldn't replace Jane Eyre in my affections, but I did expect a little more out of this. It's generally dark and bitter in tone, and it took me almost the entire book to really care about any of the characters. In the end, though, I did care - and so what a unsatisfying end!

6. Stretching for Dummies

 

Very helpful ... and self-explanatory. :)

7. Sunshine, Robin McKinley

 

I'd heard about this book over and over again as an antidote to the vampire image put forth in Twilight. It's very different. There's a facinating post-apocalyptic world, and very clever takes on the supernatural, and the inhuman aspects of vampires are amazingly well portrayed. I didn't really buy it as a love story, but it worked on every other level.

8. The Open Door, Elizabeth McGuire

 

A depressing and rather boring book based (loosely?) on the relationship between Henry James and Constance Fenimore Woolson, but notable for its portrayal of the collapse and death of a friendship - something not often discussed in fiction.

9. The Second Shift, Arlie Russell Hochschild

 

Studies on the emotional toll (especially in relationships between spouses) when both parents work outside the home, with the woman assuming most of the household duties as well. Interesting. Depressing.

10. Eating my Words, Mimi Sheridan

 

Ah, another food critic book. :) Mimi Sheridan was a resturant critic for the New York Times during the 70s and 80s, and of course she has lots of interesting stories to share.

11. Untamed, PC and Kristin Cast

 

SOMETIME during the month I read this book, but I neglected to record it either in my paper notebook or online. Ironically, I thought it was the best of the series - finally, something interesting happens. All of my earlier criticisms still stand, though.

Comments

[fogwood214.livejournal.com]

On Gaiman:

He is a wonderful story teller. But he can be very dark. Sometimes disturbingly so. I read most of his Sandman series (which, granted, are graphic novels and perhaps not really books, per se). I have not read Stardust (but want to at least see the movie because of equuschick or Coraline, but I did read Good Omens. Part of me really hated to admit that I enjoyed that book. :-P

[eattheolives.livejournal.com]

I <3 Good Omens. :) Haven't read any of the Sandman series, but that's only because I haven't had access to them. =P

Coraline is kind of spooky, but really cool. I do NOT want to see the movie, though - the animation seriously freaks me out. And the endings are different between Stardust the Movie and Stardust the Book, but I like them both.

And! Yesterday I read Gaiman's newest children's book, The Graveyard Book. It was SO GOOD. It sounds darker than it is, and I loved the plot twists and characters and subtle wordplay.

[kiwiria.livejournal.com]

Villette is 42 chapters long, and it's my firm belief it should only have been 41. That would have left an open but MUCH more satisfying ending.

I actually had to look it up on wikipedia after finishing, to make sure the version I'd gotten hold of wasn't missing something.

[eattheolives.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I agree. With the last chapter it feels like she was saying, okay, we all know that the real ending to the story is a bad one, but here's just enough ambiguity so that we don't have to admit it. It just felt wrong. =\

[greyeyedpixie.livejournal.com]

I just started reading Neil Gaiman. "Good Omens" is the next book I'm planning to read. I bought "The Cemetery Book" this weekend. :)

[eattheolives.livejournal.com]

I just finished The Graveyard Book - it was SO GOOD! One part had me jumping out of my skin, I was so surprised.

[amea.livejournal.com]

Oh man, I thought Stardust the book was infinitely better than the movie. Most people, however, seem to like whichever they encountered first. I really love Gaiman's narration voice, however, which is, of course, lost in movies.

A lot of his work can be really sketch and dark - I'm kind of afraid of his graphic novels because I'm easily disturbed - but he has some really beautiful stuff as well. Although there's nothing else quite like Stardust, some of his short stories are pretty neat. The only other thing he's written (which I haven't read but feel like recommending anyway) that isn't pretty dark is Good Omens, which he co-wrote with Terry Pratchett.

The only other novel I've read is American Gods, which is pretty brutal but also pretty amazing. It has, however, more than a smattering of unchildlike content, so, warning. I find his view of fantasy and religion ultimately one of the most deeply disturbing I've run into at heart, but perhaps only because it's so close to something absolutely beautiful.

[eattheolives.livejournal.com]

I like both book and movie, but that may be because I encountered the movie first and by the time I read the book I honestly couldn't remember the movie ending. Heh.

Gaiman is a good storyteller; I think that's what I like about him. I think he's a good storyteller like Steven King is a good storyteller, only I won't read Steven King because he does disturb me, and Gaiman (so far) does not.

I highly recommend The Graveyard Book, Gaiman's newest. Just read it yesterday and it was fabulous!

[kalquessa.livejournal.com]

I thought the book was better in the case of Stardust, especially the ending (which the Disney-fied for the screen). Definitely try more of Gaiman, I cannot recommend either Neverwhere or Anansi Boys highly enough.

[eattheolives.livejournal.com]

I hope to find Neverwhere soon!

I honestly can't remember the ending to the movie - it's been more than a year since I've seen it - but I liked the book version. :)