Julie's profile

221 ratings | 38 reviews
avg rating: 3.45

Julie's bookshelves

read (214)
currently-reading (3)
to-read (8)

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teaching (12)
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Julie is currently reading

	09/14 Julie is currently reading: Mythology (Ologies) by Lady Hestia Evans bookshelves: currently-reading, teaching	my rating:
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	09/07 Julie gave to: Crispin: The Cross of Lead (Paperback) by Avi bookshelves: currently-reading	my rating:
	Julie said: "The language and imagery in this book are beautiful. " add a comment
	02/26 Julie gave to: The Fear of Being Found (Paperback) by Erin Elizabeth Smith bookshelves: currently-reading, poetry	my rating:
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Julie's recent updates (rss)

September 14

Julie is currently reading:
Mythology (Ologies)
by Lady Hestia Evans
bookshelves: currently-reading, teaching

my rating:

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Julie marked as to-read:
The Fairy Tales (Hardcover)
by Jan Pienkowski
bookshelves: teaching, to-read

my rating:

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New comment on Hannah's review of Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life

Julie wrote: "You should read "The Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon" -- I think you would love her lists (&qu...more "

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September 07

Julie marked as to-read:
Old Man and the Sea (Hardcover)
by Ernest Hemingway
bookshelves: teaching, to-read

my rating:

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Julie marked as to-read:
A Girl Named Disaster (Orchard Classics)
by Nancy Farmer
bookshelves: teaching, to-read

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Julie marked as to-read:
Power of One (Paperback)
by Bryce Courtenay
bookshelves: teaching, to-read

my rating:

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Julie marked as to-read:
The Historian (Paperback)
by Elizabeth Kostova
bookshelves: to-read

my rating:

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New comment on Katie's review of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell : A Novel. 26 Cds

Julie wrote: ""I place Susanna Clarke squarely in the company of Tolkien and Frank Herbert; that is, writers ...more "

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Julie read and liked Katie's review of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell : A Novel. 26 Cds:

"I place Susanna Clarke squarely in the company of Tolkien and Frank Herbert; that is, writers with the ability to imagine absolutely astounding fictional worlds - with incredibly rich and complete histories, cultures and people - but who don't have t...more I place Susanna Clarke squarely in the company of Tolkien and Frank Herbert; that is, writers with the ability to imagine absolutely astounding fictional worlds - with incredibly rich and complete histories, cultures and people - but who don't have the skill to write down a compelling story. That's why enjoyed the movie versions of Dune and LOTR, but hated being forced to read them in written form. What Clarke has written here is a history book, a book that shows off the incredible world she has created. For that achievement, I applaud her. Unfortunately, she was so busy being proud of the world she created that she allowed it to get in the way of a story that could grip and keep a reader's attention.

There are many minor problems, but the major one, in my opinion, is that I don't care one iota for any of the characters. Mr. Norrell is a one-dimensional character with no depth or background whatsoever. He's a whiny, selfish, naive pill, and that's the whole length and breadth of his character. He's a placeholder for Clarke - a convenient anthropomorphic figurehead for the collection of books Strange needs to consult. Other than that, he's totally unnecessary to the plot or the story in general. Strange's character vascillates back and forth from a heroic nice guy to a self-amusing cad, such that the reader can never get to know his character comfortably. It's as if Clarke was writing him differently on different days, and then shuffled her papers. Plus, Strange goes inexplicably from being a feckless gentleman to a powerful magician - something Clarke doesn't explain (unless there was a CD missing from my audiobook, which there was not).

Clarke does that a lot- making sudden character changes that move the character/plot forward or tie up a thread without bothering to explain how or why this change occurs. The fate of Lascelles is another example. It's as if Clarke suddenly went, "Uh oh, the ending's coming and I have to do something with this guy. I'll just do...this." And poof, his thread is removed from the story, without really resolving anything.

Then there are the footnotes. If we're trying to show off the incredible world and history that Clarke has invented, bravo. If we're trying to totally interupt the flow and momentum of the story every other word so that we can never just settle in and enjoy a compelling tale, bravo again. And it isn't just the footnotes that do this. A huge complaint of mine is that every character talks like the footnotes, regardless of class, gender or situation. Even servants give long drawn-out explanations of things, using words and grammar that real people of their class in real situations just wouldn't use. I could sum up Clarke's use of dialogue in six words: REAL PEOPLE DON'T TALK LIKE THAT. I know she was trying to imitate the 19th century style of Jane Austin and the like, but even Austin knew that servants talked differently than gentlepeople. And Austin's characters didn't sound like they narrating a book. They sounded like people talking. Clarke's did not. They sounded like Clarke trying to tell us more about her great world that she thought up. (And I'm not referring to the accent or inflection conferred by the audiobook voice actor. I'm talking about the actual words put into the characters' mouths.)

Other readers must be seeing something I'm not, since this book won the Hugo and other such awards, and was named The Best of This, and The Best of That all over the place. Perhaps I gave it an unintended handicap by listening to the audiobook, so that I received it through the interpretation of the voice actor (with whom I was less than pleased). I will keep the printed book on my shelf and give it another shot sometime, since it certainly must have earned the acclaim it has received, which means that I'm the one who's wrong. :)...less "

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Julie gave

to:
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell (Paperback)
by Susanna Clarke
bookshelves: paused

my rating:

Julie said: "I'm just soooo borrrrred with it. Should I continue? Ugh. We're always talking about how short life is . . . "

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