Adeona, I'd thought that
there was more of a 4-5 year age gap between Gen and Irene. Maybe 18 and 23? 19 and 23 or 24? Somewhere around that.
Booky, about
Lord Sunday:
I was a tiny bit surprised, but not that upset about Arthur's mom dying. To be honest, I kept forgetting about her.
I was more surprised/saddened by Elephant dying; he was much more in the forefront during the book than Arthur's mom was. But, yeah, it was a bit surprising (though, I think I missed it the first time and had to go back and check)---I was really glad Arthur restrained from remaking her, though, under the circumstances.
Another thing I thought interesting was the mention of how the Will used the Trustees' own corrupted characters to enact the Will; using their own natures to work out the Architect's plan.
Right. And though Arthur wasn't happy about his powers, he did use them to do what he had to and didn't just run off screaming in the other direction (which seems to be the other pit that heroes fall into
).
Mmhmm, that was a very nice part about
The Red Pyramid.
Val, I don't think I've ever heard of "Fitcher's Bird" before. What are the differences between it and "Bluebeard"?
I'm glad you liked
Leepike Ridge, Kate.
I think you'll enjoy the 100 Cupboards series as well---I can't wait to hear your thoughts on it.
Silver the Wanderer, though
The Hunger Games is rather violent, I didn't find it graphic. I really can't remember any long descriptions of gruesome things.
Booky wrote:My favorite was the story of how Svein the hero picked his wife. He asks three sisters what he should bring them from the horde of the trow-king. The oldest wants gold and silver jewellery, the second wanted cooking implements, the youngest wanted a flower for to look at and remember him by. Upon his return, this is his comment to the sister: "You, the eldest, are clearly a vain sort of trollop, while you, the youngest, are appallingly fey. I'll pick you, the middle one, for your common sense request."
That's hilarious!
Of course, alternatively, I suppose he could've picked the middle sister because the request for cooking implements implied that she could use them and he was very hungry went he got back from raiding.
sweeet, an intriguing cover can make me pick up a book, but since I often just see the spines, an intriguing title/spine will often influence me more to pick up a book.
Usually, too, I'll read the synopsis/back cover/inside flap of the dust jacket before I make a decision about whether to check it out or not. So, a pretty cover is nice, but it's not usually going to make or break a book for me.
Lady Haleth, I hope you get to read
Beauty sometime soon.
It's my favourite McKinley.
*enjoys all the lovely book covers* I don't think I have any to share with you all right now---I know I've seen some lovely ones, but I can't remember any of them right now.
Aly, I'll definitely agree with you on the two JS&MN covers (though I have a fond spot for the red & white cover), and the second TMWWT (I read that copy of it---I know have this absurd one with a strange bird/man on it
).
I checked a couple of books by Shaun Tan the other day, as someone had recommended one of his books to me. I couldn't find the recommended one (which was disappointing, but not surprising: I always view the childrens' picture book section as a whirlpool of chaos), but I found the other two the library had. They were rather strange, but kind of quirky and fun.
I also checked out
Fool's Run, partially because Mel's recent read had piqued my interest. I was less confused than usual (I think I'm finally getting used to McKillip's writing
!) and was mostly able to skim over/get the drift of the more confusing parts.
There was a bit of language and one slightly risque scene, but I mostly enjoyed the book.
I absolutely loved the one line about Fisher letting go of the past and stepping forward, hoping that Michelle would meet him where his future began.
I also liked the sense of irony and fate that McKillip used in having him search so hard for the one thing and then when he'd pretty much stopped searching, it had snuck up behind him and walloped him on accident.
I was quite curious how the story would resolve itself, but I was happy with it. But having Terra die in the end, simply from pure exhaustion and weariness, with her last words being to ask for forgiveness was a good ending---she knew the massacre was wrong, but we finally got to see why it had happened.
And I knew there was a lot more I was going to say originally, but I forgot it.
I've also been reading
The Forests of Serre. I was ready for some confusion, but I wasn't prepared for how hilarious it was going to be! Obviously it's not all humour, but some of the bits are just incredibly humourous.
It's also feels a lot more like a traditional fairy tale. Not completely, but it has a number of the components of it.
Such as the talking and advice-giving animals, the witch who lives in the house of bones that moves about on legs (albeit her own legs and not a chicken's, but Yaga Baba anyone?), the enchanted prince, etc.
Also, some of the lines are absolutely gorgeous.
I also (finally!) got
Mockingjay from the library today.
I, eh, also read it all this afternoon.
Wow. There was a lot going on.
Tons of people died---I actually had to read most of the parts a couple of times to figure out that someone had died/who had actually died. I kind of rushed through the climax with the parachutes and didn't realise that they were exploding and that Prim was dead until I turned the page and started going, "Wait a sec...what's going on?"
It took me a couple minutes to realise Finnick was dead (Waaah!
) and I still can't find any mention of Castor disappearing or dying other than Katniss not including him when she does a count.
I was really glad that in the end, Katniss was with Peeta and not Gale. Gale was always just too full of anger and hatred for me to ever really like him.
That, and he really just annoyed me with continually attempting to cross the friendship line with Katniss (I liked him best in the beginning of MJ during the time Katniss says they're back to just being friends, just like old times). Oh! And his constant...eh, ruthlessness? Sure, his plans of traps and bombs were clever and efficient, but they were incredibly cruel. They were talking about human lives and he was just treating them like animals. He was definitely lacking in anything resembling mercy. I didn't call the parachute bomb (killing a group and then bombing the rescuers a few minutes later) being used in the end, but I knew the plans were trouble and was kind of disappointed by them blowing up the mountain. *coughs* At any rate, I've never been a fan of him, and I wasn't
that upset about him just kind of drifting off into Sector 2 and having some sort of semi-glamourous life there.
Besides, wouldn't you rather be with the guy who would fight to the last minute, doing anything and everything, to keep you alive than the guy who was just going to shoot you when he thought you'd run out of time?
*coughs* I even missed that Katniss shot the 'wrong' president. I was wondering why Snow was laughing if he was dead and how he could be leaning forward, if he'd fallen over backwards. I read it a couple of times and moved on, figuring that Katniss was being hauled off for being suicidal.
So, Coin really was rebelling, but she was orchestrating the rebellion so that she'd end up in charge? And what exactly did killing Prim do besides turning Katniss into a wreck?
What all did you think of Katniss voting for a new Hunger Games? That one threw me for a loop---I'm still not sure why she voted yes.
There's far more I'd like to say, but I need to get off now.
Edit: Please forgive any incomplete or incoherent sentences, misplaced or missing words, or any confusing thoughts or phrases, as I am rather tired and didn't do a read-through to check everything.
Posted: Sep 05, 2010 7:15 pm
Looks like I'm going to have to order the second from Amazon or something.
