I coulda sworn I already had a post entitled "book comments 4," but after searching and not finding, I conclude that I haven't such. So, I guess I'll just get on with "4" and not worry about whether or not I'm duplicating something.
I've been reading A LOT lately (for what, prithee, would a writer be who never perused the written word?), and I don't have time to do in-depth reviews of every book. However, here's my Recently Read list, along with brief comments:
"Auralia's Colors" by Jeffrey Overstreet
--entertaining, mysterious, well-written
--fantasy with a refreshing, original twist
The "color" aspect reminds me vaguely of Lois Lowry's "The Giver," but the plots are wholly different from each other.
--highly recommend
"Karavans" by Jennifer Roberson
--excellent character development, lots of "painting" of "word pictures"
I devoured this one and am itching to get the sequel, "Deepwood."
--highly recommend
"A Man in Full" by Tom Wolfe
--have been trying to get through this one since October
--every single character irritates me
--don't recommend
"Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Bronte (with the little dots over the 'e', but I'm on Ed's Mac and can't figure out how to get that letter--sorry!)
--positively brilliant
--engages heart, mind--and, dare I say, soul?--from beginning to end
Why had I never read this book before?!?!!!!?!?!?
Bronte made me feel as though my own well-being were inextricably linked to Jane's.
I was nearly as much in love with Mr. Rochester as Jane herself! ;o)
--highly, highly recommend!
"Lisey's Story" by Stephen King
--weirdly entertaining, highly imaginative, excellent character development (as always, with King)
--possible, though, that only another writer could understand the Scott Landon character
In spite of my aversions to many of King's word choices, I'm glad I broke my "no-more-Stephen-King" vow for this one.
--recommend, but caveat emptor
"The House of the Seven Gables" by Nathaniel Hawthorne
--fascinating plot, lots of painting of word pictures
--too much description of a great number of things
Hawthorne irritated me because he made fun of one of his own characters, Hepzibah, encouraging the reader to laugh at her. The author comes across as a chauvinist, which made me less interested in his story. Yes, I am biased. ;o)
Much of my interest in this novel came from my own visit to the House of the Seven Gables when I was a kid. I'll never forget the secret passageway!
--recommend (but only because it's a classic)
"Evelina" by Fanny Burney
--fun characters, engaging heroine, excellent portrait of 18th century London
I enjoyed Burney's method of telling the story via letters which the characters wrote to each other. Ah, voyeurism! ;o)
I couldn't help but compare this novel to "Jane Eyre" (and, subsequently, Lord Orville to Mr. Rochester) and conclude that Burney's doesn't quite equal Bronte's (as the Lord doesn't quite measure up to the Mr.). But I still enjoyed "Evelina" thoroughly, couldn't put it down, and finished it in two days!
--definitely recommend
"Brother Odd" by Dean Koontz
--third in a...series? trilogy?
--fascinatingly weird, very descriptive, funny
I always enjoy reading Odd Thomas, though I think the first two books about him were better than this one.
I did love the nuns, though.
--recommend, but only if you've read the first two ("Odd Thomas" and "Forever Odd")
Ta-dah.
Up next: "Velocity" by Dean Koontz and "The Crucible" by Arthur Miller
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3 comments:
I've read the Bronte book (I don't know where that key is either) and really enjoyed it, though unfortunately I had seen the movie a couple of years before (low budget) and so I was dreading certain parts :-) I've read the two coming up on your list... no spoilers here :-)
I just finished Karavans, and although I enjoyed the characters, I felt like the book was one long set up for the actual story, which will hopefully come along soon. Great descriptions, realistic characters, but all in all they didn't do much or get very far. The 'attemped attack' scene seemed rather far-fetched and random, and some other instance would have shown us the depth of feeling without the improbability. I realize not everyone is as intelligent as I, but to attack someone while on the move with a small group of people (suspects) seems rather stupid. Even if your victim can't talk, they can still point you out rather easily, and there's no safe place to lose yourself in anywhere nearby.
Okay, I'm done nitpicking. :) Really, it's been a long time since I've read a straight fantasy book. The emphasis on fortune-telling being so revered (despite the uncertainty of it being correct) was a little hard to take. I can see what you like about it, one does wonder and care about what happens to the characters.
Bri: When it comes to "Umlauts" (what's the word for that in English?), I always copy and paste from a Word document.
I found out that there's a new film version of "Jane Eyre" out. I haven't seen it yet, but it's supposed to be VERY good. I think you could look it up on imdb.com?
Patricia: I agree, I think Roberson is using the first book mainly for set-up of this new world and the characters...but what a set-up! I enjoyed the characterization so much, in my estimation, that made up for any lack of probability. (Perhaps the attackers are so overconfident in their arrogance, they disregard the more intelligent options?)
I still haven't read the sequel, but hope to soon, so I'll keep you posted on how that goes.
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