Woot, this time I'm bothering right after finishing the book. What a surprise!
Summary: The story of Shakespeare's Macbeth, as told by an assortment of minor characters, many of whom didn't make it into the play. Much of the story centers around Lady Mary, the daughter of the thane of Cawdor (the one before Macbeth) and companion to Lady Macbeth.
Reaction: I rather enjoyed it. I think it was helpful to know what happens in the play so that I could compare the two plots. This book made it clearer that Macbeth's court kept migrating, first to Scone, and then to Dunsinane. Shakespeare, if I remember correctly, glossed over that point. I rather liked finding out about what was going on in the background of Macbeth's adventures in kingship and murder: gossiping servants, rebellious soldiers, other people roaming the castle at night, everyone speculating on who Duncan's murderer(s) really were, etc.
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Wintersmith, by Terry Pratchett
Summary: After Tiffany joins in in the dance to usher in the winter, the Wintersmith falls in love with her and things get kinda wierd.
Reaction: I suppose there's a lesson to be learned about facing your problems. And having friends who can help you out when you're not looking.
Ok, I'll admit that I finished the book last night and have since forgotten most anything I had to say about it. Except for the cheese. The cheese was amusing.
Reaction: I suppose there's a lesson to be learned about facing your problems. And having friends who can help you out when you're not looking.
Ok, I'll admit that I finished the book last night and have since forgotten most anything I had to say about it. Except for the cheese. The cheese was amusing.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Gilbert and Sullivan Set Me Free, by Kathleen Karr
Summary: Libby is in Sherborn Women's Prison, never mind why, when Mrs. Wilkinson shows up and decides to organize a chior. It's amazing how much that changes things.
Reaction: First, there's always the fact that the book takes place in a prison (a WWI era prison, at that), which intrigues me. Isn't it natural to be curious what prison life is like?
Then there's the fact that the book includes random snippets of songs, most of which I recognize, which is rather cool.
Third is the story itself, a moving account of the influence one person can have on the lives of many, especially the protagonist. I'll admit I almost started crying at/near the end of the book.
Reaction: First, there's always the fact that the book takes place in a prison (a WWI era prison, at that), which intrigues me. Isn't it natural to be curious what prison life is like?
Then there's the fact that the book includes random snippets of songs, most of which I recognize, which is rather cool.
Third is the story itself, a moving account of the influence one person can have on the lives of many, especially the protagonist. I'll admit I almost started crying at/near the end of the book.
Monday, August 13, 2007
Night Watch, by Terry Pratchett
Summary: Sam Vimes finds himself in the midst of a past he already experienced, as someone else. And now he has to figure out how to survive and not get his past self killed and hopefully when the time comes to bring the criminal who arrived with him back to their own time.
Thoughts: I probably could've enjoyed this book more if I had had some kind of reasonable length attention span. I wonder if there's another book that tells this story from the perspective of the Sam Vimes who belongs in that time. But apparently what happened here and what happened in Sam's memory are a little different and they gloss over the effect of that.
Oh, I should say something about my reaction to the actual book besides trying to enjoy it when I wanted to do something else but wasn't sure what. Well, it was definately action-packed, and I kept feeling a need to look up things that happened or were mentioned earlier. Yeah, that's all I can think of.
Thoughts: I probably could've enjoyed this book more if I had had some kind of reasonable length attention span. I wonder if there's another book that tells this story from the perspective of the Sam Vimes who belongs in that time. But apparently what happened here and what happened in Sam's memory are a little different and they gloss over the effect of that.
Oh, I should say something about my reaction to the actual book besides trying to enjoy it when I wanted to do something else but wasn't sure what. Well, it was definately action-packed, and I kept feeling a need to look up things that happened or were mentioned earlier. Yeah, that's all I can think of.
Friday, August 10, 2007
The Quest of the Fair Unknown, by Gerald Morris
Summary: When Beaufils sets out to find his father, a knight of Camelot, he has no idea what to expect, having spent his entire life in the forest with his mother. Along the way he meets many interesting people and has a variety of adventures.
Thoughts: When I first started the book and saw that there was likely to be an awful lot of culture-shock, I figured I wouldn't like the book because such things tend to get on my nerves (ever see the movie Elf? Much of that movie annoyed me alot because they seemed to be playing up the "dude does stupid stuff because he doesn't know any better" aspect, which is kinda sad, because what little I remember of the actual plot suggests that if they had cut most of that it would've been a good movie. Even if it would have been about 2/3 shorter... But I digress). But the culture-shock was mostly Beaufils not knowing what life was like and asking questions most people wouldn't and being determined to think the best of people no matter how horribly they might act. Maybe the Middle Ages had a higher tolearance for unusual people.
Then I read further and saw that it was Arthurian legend of some kind, and wasn't sure I was interested. I guess I'd rather read about times I know something about, yano?
But I ignored both those issues and continued reading (basically because a book has to be /really/ horrible for me to actually put it down. I think the only book I've started recently and not finished is the Bible (or more correctly, the newest one I've gotten. Not that I've finished any of the others I have), and that has more to do with having way too many library books to read to bother with a book I own than my not wanting to read it. That, and the fact that it's incredibly thick, but more that books I own tend to get put off until I've finished all my library books (which is usually never. The only time I remember that happening recently I managed to get thru all the books I'd gotten for Christmas that year before getting more. How did I get so off-topic? *looks over paragraph* I think I should start a new paragraph to finish this particular thought))
In the end, I ended up enjoying it. It's got this lovely message about everyone having their own quest and some people have no idea what theirs is, but they manage anyway. I'm not sure it can be elaborated into our here and now considering that there was a sorcerer type guy who was helping to point people in the proper direction and there were several different worlds that they traveled between at various time. But still, everyone has some quest in life.
Thoughts: When I first started the book and saw that there was likely to be an awful lot of culture-shock, I figured I wouldn't like the book because such things tend to get on my nerves (ever see the movie Elf? Much of that movie annoyed me alot because they seemed to be playing up the "dude does stupid stuff because he doesn't know any better" aspect, which is kinda sad, because what little I remember of the actual plot suggests that if they had cut most of that it would've been a good movie. Even if it would have been about 2/3 shorter... But I digress). But the culture-shock was mostly Beaufils not knowing what life was like and asking questions most people wouldn't and being determined to think the best of people no matter how horribly they might act. Maybe the Middle Ages had a higher tolearance for unusual people.
Then I read further and saw that it was Arthurian legend of some kind, and wasn't sure I was interested. I guess I'd rather read about times I know something about, yano?
But I ignored both those issues and continued reading (basically because a book has to be /really/ horrible for me to actually put it down. I think the only book I've started recently and not finished is the Bible (or more correctly, the newest one I've gotten. Not that I've finished any of the others I have), and that has more to do with having way too many library books to read to bother with a book I own than my not wanting to read it. That, and the fact that it's incredibly thick, but more that books I own tend to get put off until I've finished all my library books (which is usually never. The only time I remember that happening recently I managed to get thru all the books I'd gotten for Christmas that year before getting more. How did I get so off-topic? *looks over paragraph* I think I should start a new paragraph to finish this particular thought))
In the end, I ended up enjoying it. It's got this lovely message about everyone having their own quest and some people have no idea what theirs is, but they manage anyway. I'm not sure it can be elaborated into our here and now considering that there was a sorcerer type guy who was helping to point people in the proper direction and there were several different worlds that they traveled between at various time. But still, everyone has some quest in life.
Thursday, August 9, 2007
A Friend at Midnight, by Caroline B. Cooney
Summary: After her brother is abandoned at the airport by her father, Lily has to learn to cope with the situation, and perhaps even forgive her father.
Thoughts: I think this might be the author responsible for every single random reference to band that I've ever noticed in a work of fiction.
I wasn't expecting God to be mentioned at all, and certainly not play an important part in the storyline.
This is kind of a downer of a book. It's more reflective than most of the stuff I've read recently, possibly even moving into the realm of depressing. But I think everything works out as well as it can in the end, so it has what passes for a happy ending within the framework of the book.
Thoughts: I think this might be the author responsible for every single random reference to band that I've ever noticed in a work of fiction.
I wasn't expecting God to be mentioned at all, and certainly not play an important part in the storyline.
This is kind of a downer of a book. It's more reflective than most of the stuff I've read recently, possibly even moving into the realm of depressing. But I think everything works out as well as it can in the end, so it has what passes for a happy ending within the framework of the book.
Sunday, August 5, 2007
Size 14 Is Not Fat, Either, by Meg Cabot
Summary: When a girl is found dead in the dorm where Heather Wells works, she can't help wondering why. And trying to find out more. And putting herself in dangerous situations. While trying to deal with various other facets of her life.
Reaction: Yes, this sounds like a fluffy book. And it kinda is, but there's way more to it than self-pity over weight gain and going "omg I'm fat. I think I'll eat an entire cheescake now even tho I'm so bloody fat" (I'm not cynical, really) (not that there isn't some of that; not that that isn't annoying. Why are some people so obsessed with their weight? I could understand it for someone who's actually fat, but most of the people who come to mind aren't. Anyway, that has nothing to do with the topic at hand, and little to do with the book...)
Mystery! Yay! This is the second in the series, and based on the few vague references to the first book, I think I know who the murderer in that one was. I suppose now I have to read it and see if I'm right. Although there's a reasonable chance I would've read it anyway. Or at least added Cabot's adult books to my list of books to look for when I'm at the library *refrains from long rant about her book reading habits, which are pretty much that she collects so many impulse books at the library that she has little time for reading books she owns and doesn't feel like she can put books on hold without really stressing herself out over how bloody many books she has to read* *remembers perhaps a little guiltily several recent instances of having one or more books that she was desparately trying to finish because she couldn't renew them any more times* *realizes that she's gotten horribly off-topic again* *is happy that she's capable of writing a long post* *decides that this isn't the best place for it and returns to trying to write a review of sorts*
Midway thru, I suddenly noticed that the book was written in present tense and it was mildly annoying for about a minute and a half until I quit noticing it. And there was one sentence that jumped out at me as ackward because it was using the word "can" in conjunction with stuff it implied happened. And a couple sentences that I thought might be candidates for the Dark And Stormy Night Contest (or whatever it was. The contest for most random f-ed up sentences to start a book.), although the sentences weren't actually at the beginning of the book, but whatever.
Reaction: Yes, this sounds like a fluffy book. And it kinda is, but there's way more to it than self-pity over weight gain and going "omg I'm fat. I think I'll eat an entire cheescake now even tho I'm so bloody fat" (I'm not cynical, really) (not that there isn't some of that; not that that isn't annoying. Why are some people so obsessed with their weight? I could understand it for someone who's actually fat, but most of the people who come to mind aren't. Anyway, that has nothing to do with the topic at hand, and little to do with the book...)
Mystery! Yay! This is the second in the series, and based on the few vague references to the first book, I think I know who the murderer in that one was. I suppose now I have to read it and see if I'm right. Although there's a reasonable chance I would've read it anyway. Or at least added Cabot's adult books to my list of books to look for when I'm at the library *refrains from long rant about her book reading habits, which are pretty much that she collects so many impulse books at the library that she has little time for reading books she owns and doesn't feel like she can put books on hold without really stressing herself out over how bloody many books she has to read* *remembers perhaps a little guiltily several recent instances of having one or more books that she was desparately trying to finish because she couldn't renew them any more times* *realizes that she's gotten horribly off-topic again* *is happy that she's capable of writing a long post* *decides that this isn't the best place for it and returns to trying to write a review of sorts*
Midway thru, I suddenly noticed that the book was written in present tense and it was mildly annoying for about a minute and a half until I quit noticing it. And there was one sentence that jumped out at me as ackward because it was using the word "can" in conjunction with stuff it implied happened. And a couple sentences that I thought might be candidates for the Dark And Stormy Night Contest (or whatever it was. The contest for most random f-ed up sentences to start a book.), although the sentences weren't actually at the beginning of the book, but whatever.
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