May 09 2012
2 Comments
Adult Lit

Novella Review: Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption

“Remember that hope is a good thing, Red, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.”

“Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption” is a novella in Stephen King’s Different Seasons collection. If you’ve seen the movie before, you know the deal: Andy Dufrense is wrongly convicted of a crime and then (spoiler alert!) breaks out of prison in spectacular fashion.

I chose to read it for the Classic Double challenge because, as King’s website says, it’s “the most satisfying tale of unjust imprisonment and offbeat escape since The Count of Monte Cristo.”

As I said in my review of CoMC, when Edmond was in prison, I totally yelled SHAWSHANK! at the book. Or in my mind. Or texted it to my friend. The point is: I totes immediately thought of Shawshank. SHAWSHANK! So when I went to King’s website and saw that very direct connection mentioned, I felt quite smug with my rightness of CoMC inspiring the story.

If you’ve seen the movie, it’s very faithful to the story and its tone. I kept picturing Morgan Freeman as Red even though he’s Irish and, um, not Morgan Freeman in the book. I like that Red believes in his friend’s innocence, even as the narrative is set up so that we never know if Andy did it or not.

I love that Andy doesn’t tell the story and that so much of what happens to him is open to speculation. We don’t really know that he’s innocent, we don’t really know how he got out, we don’t really know…well, anything. We only know what Red knows and what he’s able to piece together from his interactions with Andy and prison gossip. Of course, the point of the story isn’t that this guy Andy came to the jail and broke out. The point is the importance of hope, and I totally got that on all sides.

In fact, that message of hope is the biggest difference between The Count of Monte Cristo and “Rita Hayworth and the Shawhank Redemption.” Yes, the communication between prisoners and the prison escape and the cave fortune are in both. But King substitutes the fantastical nature of Edmond’s escape and revenge fantasy with a very grounded meditation on what happens to those left behind when someone offers them a glimmer of hope and a chance of escaping what they thought their lives could be. Andy rewrites how Red sees himself, and that’s where the redemption comes in.

In conclusion: Really well-written and heartfelt story. Totally worth a read.

Classic Double: 1

Tagged , ,
Apr 22 2012
1 Comment
Adult Lit, Young Adult Lit

April Mini-Reviews

Since I am so behind on book reviews, it’s time for mini-reviews! Here are some books I’ve read but have yet to review:

Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie: Along with The Count of Monte Cristo, this book is a Revenge inspired read. The EW recapper floated an Agatha Christie theory [full of spoilers for Revenge and Orient Express] that–even though the show is based on CoMC–maybe the writers are layering in an Orient Express element of revenge as well. I won’t spoil the book, but I liked the idea, so, of course, I had to read Murder on the Orient Express after reading the article.

I think I read this book when I went through an Agatha Christie spell in high school/college because I was not at all surprised by who did it and how. Plus, everything about the book felt really familiar. So it was good, but unsurprising. If you want to read it, I recommend going in cold and trying to figure it out with Hercule Poirot. It’ll be more fun that way.

Also! This book counts for the TV Challenge because there totally used to be a Poirot TV series! I’d call that a win.

TV Addict: 2; Classic Double: .25

Source: Library

The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi: A quick read about a girl who boards a ship whose crew members attempt a mutiny. Charlotte is smart and clever. If you think about it too hard, her transformation, as a review on Goodreads says, isn’t well foreshadowed in her character’s background. But I didn’t think about it until after I read that review, so I bought her transformation. Love Charlotte.

Off the Shelf: 3

Source: personal collection

In the end, my hope is that you’ll learn that Angry Management ain’t really where it’s at. When the rage has got ya, it’s got ya. But if you learn to tell your story, an’ tell it loud, your angry won’t get you so often.

Angry Management by Chris Crutcher: You know what’s sad? I totally started a review for this book, but never finished. That is SAD.

Anyway, it’s a collection of three short stories–excuse me, novellas–all based on some of Crutcher’s other works. Really, what Crutcher does is write fanfic of his own novels. Can you do that? Sure, if you cross, say, the world of Sarah Byrnes with that of Angus Bethune, especially when they live nowhere near each other or exist in different times. I mean, Crutcher doesn’t even have to come up with a plausible scenario for these two to meet/live near each other (oh, right, except the frame for all of the stories is that the kids are all in group therapy together, but, except for Sarah/Angus, the stories seem to exist outside of that framing device. I just went with it. Because, really, what else can you do?) but they do! So they become friends. AU fanfic right there. And, let’s face it, we all know that Crutcher is a big fan of his own books. As well he should be.

The three novellas are:

  1. “Kyle Maynard and the Craggy Face of the Moon”: Sarah Byrnes and Angus Bethune (from Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes & Athletic Shorts, respectively)
  2. “Montana Wild”: Montana West and Trey Chase (from a book/books I never read)
  3. “Meet Me at the Gates, Marcus James”: Marcus James, Mr. Simet, Matt Miller (set in the same town as Whale Talk with Mr. Simet from Whale Talk and a kid mentioned briefly in Deadline)

I liked all of the stories, but the third was probably my favorite. Matt Miller is totally literary boyfriend material. I LOVE HIM.

Man, what do you do when you know the truth, when it’s stretched out in front of you, silent?

If you’re Matt Miller, you totally do the right thing. So much love.

POC Reading Challenge: 3

Source: Library

Tagged , , , , ,
Apr 02 2012
2 Comments
Uncategorized

Bloggiesta: Wrap-Up

I’m counting my first Bloggiesta as a success. I completed the pinterest challenge by creating a Books Worth Reading board, answered the unanswered comments on my posts, and read through the mini-challenges to see if any caught my eye. (So far, I saw one that I will probably do in the future: themed pages.)

I also started cleaning up my tags and labels. I’m about 1/3 of the way through, and that’ll be an ongoing project that I work on a little at a time–probably between grading papers. I like how much cleaner and neater my blog looks on the fixed ones, so that’s good.

I didn’t make a decision about the reviews by author page, which means it stays for now. I may make updating that a task for the Bloggiesta event in September. We’ll see. Next time, I’ll hopefully be able to participate more in the Twitter aspect of it all as well.

All in all: good deal. Two thumbs up, fine holiday fun, etc.

Mar 31 2012
7 Comments
Uncategorized

Bloggiesta 2012: To-Do

I decided to sign-up for Bloggiesta. I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to get to it, but: let’s be real. I don’t do anything except sit on the couch on Saturdays anyway. To be fair, I am going to a play in about a half-hour, but when I get back, I’m going to get in some quality bloggiesta time.

My planned to-do list:

  • answer comments
  • schedule a post or two
  • update books read in 2012 list
  • decide if I want to keep/update the reviews by author page
  • decide if I want to add a reviews by title page (directly related to previous bullet point)
  • participate in the Pinterest mini-challenge
  • clean up labels/tags/categories
  • read through the other mini-challenge posts (old and new!) and see if something there catches my eye
Mar 24 2012
6 Comments
Adult Lit

Book Review: The Count of Monte Cristo

Yes, but one gets out of prison…and when one gets out and one’s name is Edmond Dantes, one seeks revenge…

It only took me two and half months, but I am DONE! I have totally PWNED The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. YESSSSSSS. It is quite possibly the longest book I have ever read in my entire life, and as someone who studied English in undergrad, completed a master’s program, and is ABD in a Ph.D. program, I have read a lot of really, really, REALLY long books.

The only thing that may come close to my affection for books is television, so you best believe this was a TV-inspired read. And if you have not been watching Revenge AKA my new favorite show AKA the show inspired by The Count of Monte Cristo, then you have been missing all the way out.

Written a gabillion years ago (or in the 1800s, if you care to nitpick), The Count of Monte Cristo is about Edmond Dantès, a man wrongfully imprisoned on treason charges for a really effing long time. He gets out, strikes it rich, and then seeks REVEEEEEEEENGE on those who did him wrong. And, oh, they did him so wrong. Edmond! They did you so wrong.

Dantes had entered the Chateau d’If with the round, open, smiling face of a young and happy man, with whom the early paths of life have been smooth, and who anticipates a future corresponding with his past. This was now all changed.

What I Liked

1. The revenge plot. I mean, obviously, the driving force of the narrative is Edmond’s need for revenge, and after seeing how wrong Danglers, Villefort, and Fernand did him, WELL, to say I wanted those fools to go down is not an understatement. They did him so wrong. Sooooo wrong. Poor, sweet, innocent, wrongly accused Edmond.

I also like that the plot is not carried out as smoothly as Edmond would like. There are quite a few innocent people hurt by his vengeance, which makes sense. No matter how well thought-out his plots are (and they are), people are involved and we all know how they can screw things up. I mean, Villefort’s family! Wow.

That said, Edmond is a little nutty. Remember when Samuel L. Jackson’s character in Pulp Fiction quotes the vengeance verse from the Bible and then kills that dude? Yeah, that’s Edmond’s attitude. He ascribes his revenge to Providence (until he screws up) and thinks of himself as God’s avenging angel. Edmond! Just own that you’re pissed and doing it for yourself, dude!

“But I, betrayed, sacrificed, buried, have risen from my tomb, by the grace of God, to punish that man.”

Edmond sure does know how to keep his hands clean, though. Nothing he does can be attributed back to him, he’s often out of town when everything hits the fan, AND he is a master manipulator. You know why? Because when he was in jail, he had nothing to do but sit, think, read, and plot. Whew.

Misfortune is needed to bring to light the treasure of the human intellect.

2. All the awesometastic, badass characters–several of which are FEMALE (WHAT). In no particular order, I really dug:

  • Abbé Faria
  • Mercédès (in the later chapters)
  • Eugénie
  • Albert
Huh, that list is shorter than I expected. Whatever, the point is I liked a lot of the characters. I mean, I loved the Abbé, Mercédès totally redeemed herself after waiting less than a year to marry someone else, Eugénie’s defiance of her family is OUTSTANDING, and Albert fell asleep after he got kidnapped and was waiting to die.

3. Grandpa Noirtier. Okay, this character gets his own number because he is the most badass of all the grandpas. Let me tell you how amazing this man is:

He had a stroke which rendered him paralyzed from the neck down and mute and HE STILL RUNS EVERYTHING. This man blinks and things get done. Things like stopping marriages, killing people, shaming his son, saving his granddaughter’s life. THOSE KINDS OF THINGS. From a wheelchair. When he can’t even speak.

“But to do this he must have spoken?”

“He has done better than that—he has made himself understood.”

I’m sorry, but you wish you were as badass as Grandpa Noirtier. I know I do.

4. SHAWSHANK! Which, btw, I am going to use for the Classic Double challenge since as soon as Faria and Edmond started communicating, that’s exactly what I yelled at the page.

5. It’s hinted at that one of the characters is gay, and I thought Dumas was going to keep it as subtext, but nope. He totally went ALL THE WAY there. Good show, sir. Absolutely no doubt at the end of the story that the character was gay, and all the fanfic can be written without having to justify it by stating subtext. BECAUSE IT’S TEXT.

6. Basically all of the female characters become ovaries-out amazing by the end–whether they were good or bad. Loved that.

What I Didn’t Like

1. The book is too long. Now you may be thinking, “Akilah, it’s an 1100 to 1300-page book (depending on which version you get; my Nook had it at ~1100 pages; Goodreads has it as ~1300). That automatically makes it too long.” But you’d be wrong. The beginning of the book zips along at quite a fast clip. From the set up to the betrayal to the arrest to the long, long time in jail to the freeeeeeeeedom to the striking it rich. All of that is super fast. And then the third act gets all juicy again and zip, zip, zip.

But Italy. Italy is soooooooo slow and sooooooooo boring. I think I put the book down for a little while during Italy because I just didn’t see the point. And then I picked it back up and had to skim to get through it. And do you know how long Italy goes on? Like, 300 pages. That is a lot of pages for boring is what I’m saying.

Also, it’s such an abrupt slow down and really destroys the momentum of the book. Yes, some of the stuff we learn there comes into play later (more specifically: the introduction of Edmond as The Count and the introduction of Franz, Albert, and some other characters who mean something to the plot), but it does not have to be (a) that detailed or (b) that boring. The only explanation I can come up with for how/why it’s even in the book is that people back in Dumas’s day didn’t have TV (or even radio) so they could read really long books like that without thinking of, you know, watching the movie instead. That’s the only thing I can think of.

2. I couldn’t keep the characters straight. No lie, I totally had to refer to SparkNotes at one point because I couldn’t remember who was who. Sometimes Dumas refers to them by their first names, sometimes by their titles, sometimes by their last names. Oh, and of course, if there’s a son and a father, they tend to share the same last name–same with the mothers and daughters.

Again, that may have been fine way back in the 1800s, but we don’t really do that in the 21st century.

In conclusion: Totally worth it! Except for that one really slow part in the middle (which made me hate Franz, btw, since he was the POV character at that point) the book is totally satisfying with lots of drama and great plot stuff.

Oh, and if anyone else is doing the Classic Double challenge, this book pairs nicely with a few stories from the 1001/Arabian Nights (as the classic!) since lots of Edmond’s monikers/adventures are inspired by those short stories–specifically Ali Baba, Aladdin, and Sinbad the Sailor. I have the collection on my shelf and plan on reading those…someday.

Also, this book is perfect for an e-reader because, omg, the copy at the library was a gabillion pages long and had itty, bitty tiny text. Although, I guess I could’ve used that print version to do bicep curls. Oh well.

TV Addict: 1; Tea & Books: 1; Classic Double: .5; POC Challenge: 3

Source: Project Gutenberg

Tagged , , , , , ,
Mar 08 2012
2 Comments
Young Adult Lit

Book Review: Jane

To expend some of my energy, I wandered the grounds and saw, for the first time, the wreck of the chestnut tree. It was black and split down the center. The two halves clung to each other, the firm base and strong roots keeping them upright. But the tree was clearly dead; one good storm would knock it over. For now, though, they formed one tree — a ruin, but an entire ruin.

I read Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre three times between high school and undergrad. THREE. Not because I wanted to, but because it was required reading. Truthfully, though, I much preferred it to Wuthering Heights, so, you take what you can get.

The point is: when I found out that April Lindner wrote Jane, a retelling of Jane Eyre, (nerd alert!) I was immediately intrigued. The premise is relatively simple: What if Jane Eyre fell in love with a rock star?

Lindner obviously respects the original novel. She makes sure to hit all the major points of the book (even managing to get in a nod at the red room). Jane is still an orphan, still all alone in the world, still detached and removed. And, of course, Jane still manages to fall for Mr. Rathburn, her much older and experienced employer.

Ultimately, though, the downfall of the novel is how little Lindner is willing to play with the narrative. Reading Jane felt JUST LIKE reading Jane Eyre, in terms of plot and tone. In any retelling, I expect the author to hit on the major points of the narrative, but I do not want to feel like I might as well be reading the original — which is how I felt reading Jane. Although, to be fair, Lindner’s Jane feels slightly less plucky than Brontë’s.

I really wanted to like this book, but somewhere around the middle, I found myself reading just to see it through to the end. (I did, after all, need to find out if Lindner ended with “Reader, I married him.”)

I admire Lindner’s ambitious undertaking. Jane Eyre is freaking long and not entirely conducive to modernity, which is why I was excited to see a retelling of it. I just wish Lindner had been a little less faithful to the original by playing around with the narrative and the characters.

I feel like by saying that I should give some examples of retellings that do what I’m talking about, so:

  • The Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan
  • Kill Bill, Vol. 1 (movie), a retelling of Sleeping Beauty
  • Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine, retelling of Cinderella
  • Bride and Prejudice (movie), retelling of Pride & Prejudice
  • Wuthering High and the Bard Academy novels by Cara Lockwood, retelling of Wuthering Heights and many other classics

What are some other successful retellings that play around with the originals? Let me know in the comments!

Off the shelf: 3/30

Tagged ,
Feb 18 2012
Leave a comment
Middle Grade Lit, Nonfiction, Young Adult Lit

Book Review: No Crystal Stair

No Crystal Stair: A Documentary Novel of the Life and Work of Lewis Michaux, Harlem Bookseller by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson is a fictional account of the life of Lewis Michaux, the author’s great-uncle. Nelson compiled stories of her uncle from family oral history, interviews, newspaper articles, and photographs and shaped them into this narrative.

Like I said in my Goodreads review, I love reading about little known figures who won’t be covered in history books. Michaux is definitely one of those figures. He takes five books and $100 and starts what will become one of the biggest bookstores in Harlem: the African National Memorial Bookstore.

I also loved the way Nelson juxtaposed the story of Lewis Michaux with his brother, a very big deal preacher named Elder Lightfoot Solomon Michaux. All in all, the story was really nicely done.

I am also really, really bummed I will never get a chance to visit the bookstore. I mean, really. How amazing would it be to not only go to a place where some of the biggest Civil Rights leaders used to hang out, but to go to a place with such a large collection of books by and about black people? With books that you couldn’t find anywhere else? I would totally have gone to Harlem just to visit this bookstore.

POC Reading Challenge: 2

Source: NetGalley

Tagged ,
Feb 13 2012
1 Comment
Adult Lit

Book Tour Review: Overbite

I liked Meg Cabot‘s Overbite much more than I liked its predecessor, Insatiable.

For one, the pacing is a lot tighter. Everything moves quickly, making the book easy to read. The plot is simplified: Lucien comes back into Meena’s life just as tourists are disappearing in Manhattan. Overall, the story just works a lot more.

I also love Meena’s brother, and, of course, Alaric. (And I didn’t get that Alaric’s last name being Wulf makes the whole Alaric v. Lucien thing wolf v. vampire until someone on Goodreads pointed it out. I have to turn my brain off sometimes.) I am Team Alaric, obviously.

Meg Cabot still hates vampires, which I am forever grateful for.

Did I mention I love Meena’s brother? He’s really the highlight of this whole book fo rme. His man-crush on Alaric, his new vampire weapon, and his love for Yalena all make me want to squish him. I wouldn’t necessarily say he’s literary boyfriend material, but he is, at the very least, one fun character.

Alaric can be my boyfriend, though. He’s great. And I love Jack Bauer (Meena’s dog).

I wish I could engage with Meena more, though. I’m sure if I did, I would’ve really enjoyed this book instead of just thinking it okay.

I definitely approve of the ending, though.

In conclusion: A quick read with some memorable characters and a lean plot. Would make a good beach/pool read.

Source: I received this book for free from the publisher to review.

Tagged
Jan 28 2012
Leave a comment
Adult Lit

Play Review: Wicked: The Musical

I got my daughter tickets to see Wicked: The Musical for Christmas while it was on tour here in Florida.

For those who don’t know, Wicked is based on the book of the same name by Gregory Maguire. I read it many years ago when it first came out and here’s what I remember:

  • The book tells how Elphaba became known as the Wicked Witch of the West.
  • Maguire explains how she gets around the whole bathing thing since water destroys her in the end.
  • Glinda’s (the Good Witch of the North) name is actually Galinda.
  • Dorothy is a very peripheral, non-entity of a character until she, of course, liquidates the witch.
  • It’s sad. And long. Good, though!

Yeah, so the play is nothing like that. I mean, yes, we still find out how Elphaba becomes the Wicked Witch of the West, and Glinda is Galinda. But the play focuses more on the friendship between the two women and is way, way, way more upbeat and funny.

There is nothing (nothing!) I didn’t like about the play, so some of the things my daughter and I enjoyed:

  • Seeing the people turn into the iconic creatures: Tin Man, Scarecrow, etc.
  • Galinda. She is so shallow and funny. I want her to teach me to be popular. *tosses hair*
  • The song “Loathing”
  • Actually, getting context for all the songs was fantastic. We had listened to the soundtrack before but didn’t follow the plot through that. Much like, Dreamgirls, hearing the songs sung in context gives them more power and meaning.
  • “Defying Gravity” is an absolute showstopper.
  • The set was amazing.
  • Media manipulation is real. Poor Elphaba is just a victim of bad press.

Basically, the show is awesome. If you’re a fan of female friendship, fairy tale retellings, musicals, showmanship, strong female characters, fun wordplay, and exceeding cleverness definitely check out Wicked when it tours near you.

Tagged , , ,
Jan 26 2012
1 Comment
Young Adult Lit

Book Review: My Unfair Godmother

Wishes are powerful things. You can’t expect them to change the world without changing you too.

Chrysanthemum (Chrissy) Everstar is back in My Unfair Godmother, the sequel to My Fair Godmother (one of my favorite reads of 2009), by Janette Rallison. Just like in the first book, Chrissy is trying to prove herself as a fairy godmother. This time, her charge is Tansy Miller, a girl who is very, very angry about her parents’ divorce and continues to piss her father off. When her current boyfriend, Bo, vandalizes a building and lets her take the rap, things spiral downhill pretty quickly for Tansy. Enter Chrissy and the kinds of chaos only her granted wishes can create.

What I Liked

- I love Chrissy. I LOVE HER. I wouldn’t mind seeing a whole book about her and the wacky fairy adventures she gets into when she’s not popping into her mortals’ lives.

- I like that Tansy is so different from the main character of the first book. And! The story is very different, too. I mean, yes, fairy tale, etc, but I was really expecting it to follow the exact same formula–and while there are some similarities–they are really almost nothing alike.

- Tansy has to figure out the moral of her story to right Chrissy’s magic, and, while I like the one Tansy settled on, there were actually several used throughout the story that were nice.

- Nick, Tansy’s stepbrother, is so great.

What I Didn’t Like

- Tansy needs to forgive her father and learn to love/accept her new family, right? Except she spends little to no time with them and all of her time with the love interest. I love a good romance as much as the next person, but I would really like to read stories about girls who don’t figure things out through boys. It would really be nice is all. Not to mention, the glimpses of Tansy’s family we do get after the magic mayhem starts are really freaking fascinating. So, while the story is about Tansy, it really is about the boy moreso than her journey to her family. I don’t like that very much.

- I really didn’t like Tansy all that much. I was caught up in the story but not because of her. It was more the premise than anything. She’s realistic and all; I just didn’t connect with her.

- Not enough Nick or Chrissy, alas.

In conclusion: A fun read in line with the other Chrissy book. I just would’ve liked to see a little more focus on the family aspect.

Source: ILL

Tagged , ,
← Older posts
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 153 other followers