The Last Unicorn

Ahhhh.... what a nice book.  I wasn't planning on reading this one, but it was my favorite movie when I was younger... (and I wish I could find a DVD of it, to watch again!)

I was just wandering through the library a couple of weeks ago (yes, I'm a little slow on the blogging, but it can't be helped) when I saw this on the new release shelves in the kids section.  I immediately grabbed it, since I don't think I even KNEW that it was a book before it was a movie, and read the whole thing in about 2 days.  It was lovely, and I think it's a wonderful story!  HOWEVER, I would note that I wouldn't read it to Thomas quite yet - I think he might be a little scared at some parts.  Having said that, I would also recommend it to people who liked the earlier Harry Potter books.  The story line is not as involved as the last few H.P. books - it's definitely along the same lines as the first two though!

Anyway, I've also taken a stab at Jane Eyre, and put it down - I just wasn't really enjoying it all that much.  I have also started Pride and Prejudice, and am enjoying that somewhat more, although I'm still finding it a little hard going.  This is partly because I saw (a) movie version of it, but I can't quite remember it well enough to "play" the movie in my head, but I remember it too well to be just imagining... do you understand what I mean?

Anyway, I may go look for more children's classics, because I think there could be a list of 100 of those too!

A brief Diversion

Good afternoon!  I realized that it had been a while since I have blogged, so I thought I'd update a little on what I have been doing!
Mainly, I'm attempting to finish a bunch of knitting that (should have) been done by Christmas, or shortly thereafter.  I've also been reading my brain candy again - I'm re-reading a Mercedes Lackey series that is one of my very favorites!  I'm on book three of the first trilogy, so I shouldn't need too much longer before I return to my regularly scheduled reading!  Anyway, if anyone wants an interesting fantasy read, I highly recommend anything that Mercedes Lackey has written - especially her "Valdemar" books and the "Obsidian Mountain" books.  There's a ton of them, so be prepared - if you like them, you may end up reading them for an extended period of time!

Happy reading!

Winter Break

Happy New Year!  I thought I'd write a brief note about The Winter Reading Project's winter break.  I will be taking a couple of weeks off to (try) to finish a couple of items that I promised for Christmas gifts (handknits) which are sitting, uncompleted, in my project box...
So, in conclusion, I'll post of Facebook when I'm back blogging and enjoying some more great books!
The next few up are
Pride and Prejudice
Tess of D'Ubervilles (Not sure if I've spelled that right...)
and
Jane Eyre

if anyone wants to read along!

Wishing you all a wonderful 2011!!

Eat, Pray Love & The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime

Holiday greetings!  Merry Christmas etc....

I've finished 2 books since I last blogged, (and my space bar isn't working right) so this may be long, or it may be short and un-spaced.....

First: Eat Pray Love.  What a wonderful book!  I really enjoyed reading this, as I could identify with Ms. Gilbert's search for something more.  I found it enjoyable, and thought provoking.  I'm actually interested to see the movie now, although I don't think the movie could be as good as the book.  Anyway, definitely a good read, very recommendable.

The second book was The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, by Mark Haddon. Again, a really GOOD book.  It was a really interesting experience to be put into the shoes of someone with autism/aspergers syndrome, and I thought that the subject of disabilities was treated respectfully and thoughtfully, as were the difficulties that other people experience when meeting or trying to help or interact with someone who struggles with these difficulties.  Again, highly recommended.  I'd love to hear comments!

                        I've got one more from the library to read - Good Bones, by Margaret Atwood, which is a collection of short stories, then I think I'll change eras, and go back in time for a while, as I was lent copies of Tess of D'Ubervilles and Jane Eyre.... see you in the future!  Happy reading!

The God of Small Things

I've finished the first of my books from my new winter reading project: The God of Small Things,  by Arundhati Roy.  It was an entirely different read than pretty much anything I've read recently.  To describe the book in one word, I would choose "bleak".  The whole story seems, to me, to be lacking in any (I'm pausing while I search for an appropriate word here) sense of "goodness".  The characters are all definitely "human" - using the term to mean petty, mean, and generally selfish - without any of them seeming to have any redeeming qualities.  Perhaps I've read too many romance and fantasy novels, where the characters, even the "bad guys" generally have at least some sort of redeeming quality, but I found this book astoundingly depressing!

All of that said, it was an interesting read, although at times a little confusing, as Ms. Roy moved back and forth between the "present" and the "past", and sometimes it was hard to tell when a given event was happening;  but this also kept me interested in the book.  You had to read the whole thing to see the whole picture she was painting.

I'm not sure if I would recommend this to read or not - it's not a comfortable book to read, but it was intruiging.

Now, on the the second book - I think I'll read "Eat, Pray, Love", by Elizabeth Gilbert.  I haven't seen the movie, so I would request no spoilers on the story line etc., but, as always, I would welcome anyone who wants to read along with me!  

A Change in Plans

Hi!  I've decided to change the project a little.  After reading through the "1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die", I was amazed and slightly appalled at how few of them I've actually read.  Now, I don't think I will EVER read all of them - some of them don't interest me in the slightest (The Shining, for example), but I am going to try to read many of them!  Therefore, I'm moving away from my original intent of reading my way through the non-fiction stacks to reading my way through some classic fiction.
The first book I've chosen (since I had it at home, unread until now) is "The God of Small Things".
I don't think I will get through these books quite as fast, as they aren't usually the kind of books one reads through quickly.  I really want to enjoy them and find out why they would be in a book like the one above.  (1001 Books....) Anyway, I'd love it if anyone wanted to read along, and kind of discuss the books with me!  Thanks for your understanding, and thanks for reading!

To Read or Not to Read

Hello!  I have just finished flipping through 1001 Books You Must Read Before you die, and I am absolutely astounded at how FEW of them I have read!  I mean, I read, on average, 2 - 3 books A WEEK, and I have only read about 20 of the books that they reccomend, at least in their entirety.  I have read excerpts or abridged versions of a few more, during English or Lit classes in high school.  There were a few that I read at my dad's urging in high school - mostly John Wyndham (The Triffids et. al).
I am almost tempted to shift my focus from the non-fiction stacks to read a few of the "classics"... or at least some of the 1001 books they reccomend!  I'm going to have to think about that.
I was sometimes amused, and sometimes shocked, at what made the list, and what didn't in this book!  Some are obvious choices, while others seem obscure to me, but I suspect that I have lived in the land of "brain candy" (thanks to my friend Tamara for the term!), otherwise known as the SF/Fantasy and Romance sections of the library for so long that I've somehow managed to avoid reading much of anything that is "classic".

What do you think?  If you were picking a book that should be on a list like this, what would you choose?  I think I'd add "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe" and "Anne of Green Gables", but I will admit that those are two of my favorite books of all time, regardless of their literary merit.

As always, I'd love to see comments!