Dana Swier Huff's Blog, page 54
February 28, 2012
Top Ten Books I'd Give a Theme Song To
This is an interesting topic. I'll try to do it justice.
The Great Gatsby , F. Scott Fitzgerald: "Uninvited" by Alanis Morissette. This is perhaps kind of an odd choice, given the song has no connection to the 1920′s or jazz, but if you listen to the lyrics, they essentially describe how Daisy seems to feel about Gatsby.
Click here to view the embedded video.
Heart of Darkness , Joseph Conrad: "Head Like a Hole" by NIN. OK, this song is really aggressive and may not jump out at you when you think of Heart of Darkness, but again, the lyrics seem to speak to the book's themes. My favorite is comparing Kurtz's last words, "The horror!" to the last line of the song, "You know what you are." Isn't that the horror Kurtz was talking about? The horror of realizing what he was? Of course that line is whispered on the recording, and I didn't hear it in this video. But still.
Click here to view the embedded video.
Revolution , Jennifer Donnelly: "Shine on You Crazy Diamond" by Pink Floyd. I chose this song mainly because it is a motif in the story itself. The song becomes important to Andi both for its message and music.
Click here to view the embedded video.
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children , Ransom Riggs: "People are Strange" by The Doors. I am not a huge fan of The Doors. I liked them a lot more when I was in high school. However, I can't deny there are some strange people in Riggs's book.
Click here to view the embedded video.
The Secret History , Donna Tartt: "The Killing Moon" by Echo and the Bunnymen. Any list like this is better for an Echo and the Bunnymen song. Plus I think the sort of gothic nature of the song (and the fact that it was recently featured in a commercial with vampires) goes with the book's atmosphere. "Fate… up against your will" describes Richard Papen's complicated feelings about Bunny's murder. Plus, "killing."
Click here to view the embedded video.
Wuthering Heights , Emily Brontë: "Wuthering Heights" by Kate Bush. Kind of a no-brainer. This video is nearly as weird as Catherine Earnshaw.
Click here to view the embedded video.
Much Ado About Nothing , William Shakespeare: "Sigh No More" by Mumford & Sons. Maybe because the song just alludes to a song in the play and quotes pieces of the play, but it fits anyway.
Click here to view the embedded video.
Beowulf , Anonymous: "The Immigrant Song" by Led Zeppelin. Because VIKINGS! That's why.
Click here to view the embedded video.
Interview with the Vampire , Anne Rice: "Moon Over Bourbon Street" by Sting. Yes, he actually was inspired to write the song because of Rice's book. Fitting.
Click here to view the embedded video.
The Catcher in the Rye , J. D. Salinger: "How Soon is Now?" by The Smiths. The song's narrator is an angry, misunderstood loner, just like Holden Caulfield. And honestly, I think what Holden really does want is to be loved. Just like everybody else does.
Click here to view the embedded video.
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Post © Dana Huff
Top Ten Books I'd Give a Theme Song To
February 20, 2012
Sunday Salon: Where I’ve Been
I haven’t been posting much lately. I haven’t been able to read as much as I’d like. I know only a few people who read this blog also read my education blog, so you might not be aware I’m currently engaged in a job search. It’s taking up quite a bit of my time, not just physically, but mentally (meaning, that’s where my mind is focused). The search is going well so far, but it’s not without its stress. A colleague likened searching for a job in the education field (and perhaps this is true of any field) to Victorian courtship. Neither party wants to appear too eager, lest the other party not feel the same way, so there is this delicate dance we do in which we try to convey interest but not desperation (on both sides, I think!). It’s maddening, truth be told, and I can’t wait until it’s over.
Meanwhile, I already have Downton Abbey withdrawal, and I can’t believe I have to wait until next January to find out if Matthew and Lady Mary are really going to get married this time, or if Bates is going to go free. I’m going to have to pick up something similar to Downton to read. Diana Gabaldon has a methadone list for fans to read while they’re waiting for the next book in the Outlander series. I love her sense of humor, but I wish Julian Fellowes had a methadone list, too! Actually, I’ve encountered a few of these lists, but you know. Speaking of which, does anyone know of any good Titanic books? I have already read A Night to Remember. I’m thinking more of fiction set on the Titanic. It seems appropriate now that we’re facing the 100th anniversary of the ship’s virgin voyage and sinking. I’ve been fascinated by that ship ever since they found her on the ocean floor in 1985. It’s been a dream of mine to cross the Atlantic in a cruise ship for about ten years.
Two last things, gentle readers: 1)what is the etiquette, fellow book reviewers, of bowing out of a review gracefully if you aren’t sure you can finish the book? and 2) Forever Young Adult regularly casts book characters in their reviews. I admit it’s a feature I like. I kept picturing Laura Carmichael (Lady Edith Crawley from Downton Abbey) as Gemma in The Flight of Gemma Hardy.
Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.
[image error] photo credit: Vincent van der Pas
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Post © Dana Huff
Sunday Salon: Where I’ve Been
Sunday Salon: Where I've Been
I haven't been posting much lately. I haven't been able to read as much as I'd like. I know only a few people who read this blog also read my education blog, so you might not be aware I'm currently engaged in a job search. It's taking up quite a bit of my time, not just physically, but mentally (meaning, that's where my mind is focused). The search is going well so far, but it's not without its stress. A colleague likened searching for a job in the education field (and perhaps this is true of any field) to Victorian courtship. Neither party wants to appear too eager, lest the other party not feel the same way, so there is this delicate dance we do in which we try to convey interest but not desperation (on both sides, I think!). It's maddening, truth be told, and I can't wait until it's over.
Meanwhile, I already have Downton Abbey withdrawal, and I can't believe I have to wait until next January to find out if Matthew and Lady Mary are really going to get married this time, or if Bates is going to go free. I'm going to have to pick up something similar to Downton to read. Diana Gabaldon has a methadone list for fans to read while they're waiting for the next book in the Outlander series. I love her sense of humor, but I wish Julian Fellowes had a methadone list, too! Actually, I've encountered a few of these lists, but you know. Speaking of which, does anyone know of any good Titanic books? I have already read A Night to Remember. I'm thinking more of fiction set on the Titanic. It seems appropriate now that we're facing the 100th anniversary of the ship's virgin voyage and sinking. I've been fascinated by that ship ever since they found her on the ocean floor in 1985. It's been a dream of mine to cross the Atlantic in a cruise ship for about ten years.
Two last things, gentle readers: 1)what is the etiquette, fellow book reviewers, of bowing out of a review gracefully if you aren't sure you can finish the book? and 2) Forever Young Adult regularly casts book characters in their reviews. I admit it's a feature I like. I kept picturing Laura Carmichael (Lady Edith Crawley from Downton Abbey) as Gemma in The Flight of Gemma Hardy.
Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.
[image error] photo credit: Vincent van der Pas
[image error]
Post © Dana Huff
Sunday Salon: Where I've Been
February 14, 2012
The Flight of Gemma Hardy, Margot Livesey
Margot Livesey's novel The Flight of Gemma Hardy is a retelling of Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre. Like Jane, Gemma is taken in by her uncle and his family after the deaths of her parents, and once her uncle also passes away, she is abused and neglected by her aunt, who ships her off to a boarding school as a "working girl," where she pays for her tuition and board through menial labor for the school and is treated like a second-class citizen. When the school closes, Gemma must shift for herself, so she answers an ad for an au pair position in the Orkneys. She moves into Blackbird Hall and quickly subdues her wild charge, Nell. Hugh Sinclair, Nell's uncle and guardian, returns to Blackbird Hall and soon finds himself entranced by Gemma.
While the story closely follows the plot of Jane Eyre, Livesey has added details that make the story Gemma's own. Gemma, born in Scotland to a Scottish mother and Icelandic father, wonders about her Icelandic family and yearns to travel to Iceland to see if she can uncover her past. The story is set mostly in Scotland in the 1950′s and 1960′s. Gemma has opportunities that Jane couldn't have imagined; for instance, Gemma is able to sit for exams and go to college.
The danger in writing updated versions of classic novels is that they will seem too derivative to be their own story, but I didn't find this to be the case with The Flight of Gemma Hardy. Because I had read Jane Eyre, I could guess the general directions in which various plot points would turn, but Livesey threw in enough unique details and changes that I felt the novel was much more of an homage to Jane Eyre than an imitation. Another challenge Livesey successfully navigates is making the story of Jane's sad childhood and subsequent removal to Thornfield Hall believable in the twentieth century. Not only does Livesey answer this challenge, but in my opinion, she tempers a bit of the horrific improbability present in Jane Eyre. I know, I know—Charlotte experienced some of the horrible events she describes in Jane Eyre at the Clergy Daughters' School. Tragedy ran rampant through the Brontë family, and I don't mean to make light of it. However, it reminds me that sometimes true stories sound over the top when rendered in fiction. Young Jane's early experiences, the goodness of Helen Burns, the evil of Aunt Reed and Mr. Brocklehurst—all these rang slightly too awful to believe when I read them, which isn't to say I didn't love Jane Eyre. Gemma's experiences, while uniquely horrible in their way, read as more realistic, and Helen's counterpart Miriam is a more believable and less "Mary Sue" type of character (and yes, I know that Charlotte based Helen on her sister Maria, and that Charlotte claims Maria really was that good).
I liked Gemma. She is smart and spunky, particularly as a child. The supporting cast are all enjoyable, too, particularly Gemma's charges Nell and Robin. I loved the Rivers sisters' counterparts Hannah and Pauline. St. John Rivers's counterpart Archie was more likable than St. John himself. The relocation to Scotland and Iceland made for an intriguing setting that rendered events in the story more believable, I think, than they might have been had Livesey set her novel in England. I do think fans of Jane Eyre will enjoy this book, but I think it stands on its own as a fine novel without its connection to its literary ancestor.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
You can find Margot Livesey online at her website, her Facebook page, and her Twitter account.
I read this novel for the TLC Book Tour. You can visit the other stops below on the dates listed to read other reviews of this novel.
Tuesday, January 30th: Just Joanna *
Wednesday, February 1st: Book Reviews by Molly *
Thursday, February 2nd: A Library of My Own
Tuesday, February 14th: Much Madness is Divinest Sense
Wednesday, February 15th: Into the Hall of Books
Thursday, February 16th: Chaotic Compendiums *
Monday, February 20th: Luxury Reading
Tuesday, February 21st: Coffee and A Book Chick
Tuesday, February 21st: The Whimsical Cottage
Wednesday, February 22nd: A Chick Who Reads
Thursday, February 23rd: Book Nook Club
Tuesday, February 28th: It's a Crazy, Beautiful Life
Wednesday, February 29th: ooldes of books
Thursday, March 1st: Book Clutter
Monday, March 5th: Book Journey
Tuesday, March 6th: Drey's Library
Wednesday, March 7th: Book-a-rama
Thursday, March 8th: Unabridged Chick *
*Also reading Jane Eyre
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Post © Dana Huff
The Flight of Gemma Hardy, Margot Livesey
February 7, 2012
Teaser Tuesdays: The Flight of Gemma Hardy
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away! You don't want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
My teaser:
"In the shelves, among the linens, something moved. A figure stood there, tall and gaunt. It stepped toward me."
—The Flight of Gemma Hardy, Margot Livesey, p. 14
Sorry. That was three sentences.
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Post © Dana Huff
Teaser Tuesdays: The Flight of Gemma Hardy
February 4, 2012
Saturday Reads: February 4, 2012
I am a true converted fan of Ree Drummond's Pioneer Woman cookbooks (the new one is due out soon) and cooking blog. Part of the artistry of her blog is her ability to take excellent photographs of her cooking. I have been pinning so many of her recipes to my Recipes board on Pinterest. I just love Pinterest.
The New York Times has more Downton Abbey reads (yet another reference to the new book about Lady Almina).
Paulo Coelho is encouraging folks to pirate his books, arguing he actually sells more books when they do.
William Boyd's article on Vienna at the turn of the 20th century was fascinating reading.
Julian Barnes wrote a short story "The Defence of the Book," and The Guardian offers a taste.
Sam Jordison argues that if you're going to read Bleak House, need to go about it in the right way.
James Lasdun has a good review of Nathan Englander's new short story collection What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank.
Flavorwire has a list of 10 Great Science Fiction Books for Girls (driven, of course, by the 50th anniversary of A Wrinkle in Time). My favorite on the list is The Handmaid's Tale, but I have to admit the list skews older than I thought it would when I followed the link. I think girls might like André Norton's Outside (out of print, but easy to find second hand), or Lois Lowry's The Giver (though it has a male protagonist).
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is 50, too. Flavorwire has a gallery of book covers. My favorite is either the Penguin classics cartoon cover or the one with all the pills.
Feast your eyes on these gorgeous bookstores.
I loved this post in Better Living Through Beowulf about turning to Austen when you've been jilted by your fiancé.
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Post © Dana Huff
Saturday Reads: February 4, 2012
January 31, 2012
Top Ten Book Club Books
This week's Top Ten Tuesday topic is the top ten books that would make great book club picks. Some of these books I have actually read with a book club; others I haven't, but I think they might make for good discussion.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society , Annie Barrows and Mary Ann Shaffer: It's a book about book clubs! What could be better to read with a book club?
Moloka'i , Alan Brennert: This might be because I just chose it for my book club, but I think it would be great for discussion, especially because it's a good story, but it has some flaws.
The Paris Wife , Paula McLain: I think this one would be great for literary book clubs who want to learn more about Hemingway and his circle.
The Kitchen Daughter , Jael McHenry: It might be fun to bring the dishes described in the book to the meeting. I also think discussing adult Asperger's would make for an interesting evening.
The Little Stranger , Sarah Waters: I picked this mostly because I would like to talk about the ending and see what everyone else thinks happened at the end.
The Help , Kathryn Stockett: I liked this one a lot and see it being a good book to talk about when you're done with it. I could even see a good discussion about whether it's another in the long line of "white people solve racism" books/movies.
The Woman in White , Wilkie Collins: Marian and Count Fosco are great characters. So was Frederick Fairlie. He's hysterical, in fact. I think it might be interesting to talk about how Collins popularized some of those tropes we consider clichés.
The Eyre Affair , Jasper Fforde: There is so much bookish fun in this one. I think book nerds would really like reading and talking about it.
The Lace Reader , Brunonia Barry: I am not sure it would appeal to everyone in the group, but it has a classic unreliable narrator, and those always make for juicy discussion. Plus you could try to brew up some "Difficul-tea" and try out lace reading (if you can figure it out).
Madame Bovary's Ovaries , David P. Barash and Nanelle R. Barash: The premise of this book is that you can explain the behavior of some characters in great literature through evolutionary psychology. It's an interesting read. It's sure to generate some discussion; I can't imagine you'd get a whole group to agree on whether or not the authors are right. It serves the dual purpose of making you interested in the literature they discuss, too. The Goodreads reviews on it are all over the place.
Honorable mentions: Reading Lolita in Tehran, Azar Nafisi; Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, John Berendt (only left out of top ten because everyone's surely read it by now); and Girl in Hyacinth Blue, Susan Vreeland.
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Post © Dana Huff
Top Ten Book Club Books
January 28, 2012
Saturday Reads: January 28, 2012
The Guardian has an interesting blog post on "The Future of Books, Today." Neil Gaiman, interviewed for the piece, says he thinks "traditional publishing" has five or "maybe 10 years … But that isn't going to mean fewer books. There'll be a lot more books—people will just find them differently."
Also, London's City University is now offering an MA in crime writing.
Pamela Paul weighs in on the 50th anniversary of A Wrinkle in Time in the New York Times.
Flavorwire has a list of the ten most dangerous novels of all time. I know Stephen King has expressed regret over writing Rage, but I did not realize he had asked his publisher to take it out of print. I also liked their list of the "10 Most Iconic Accessories of Famous Writers" and their list of "10 Legendary Bad Girls of Literature."
This is so funny. The last Top Ten Tuesday was open topic, and Mandy of Adventures in Borkdom had the same idea (here is my post). We appear to have some overlap.
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Post © Dana Huff
Saturday Reads: January 28, 2012
January 26, 2012
A Northern Light, Jennifer Donnelly
Jennifer Donnelly's YA novel A Northern Light is based, in part, on the same crime that inspired Theodore Dreiser to write An American Tragedy: Chester Gillette's murder of Grace Brown in the Adirondacks in 1906. The novel's protagonist, Mattie Gokey, is the teenage daughter of a poor farmer in the North Woods. Mattie's mother died not too long before the events in the book start. Before she dies, Mattie's mother extracts a promise from Mattie that she will stay to help take care of her siblings. Mattie's older brother Lawton left home after a fight with their father, and Mattie is responsible for her three younger sisters. Mattie, however, dreams of going to college. Her teacher, Miss Wilcox, encourages Mattie, who she believes has a gift for writing. Mattie's friend Weaver Smith has dreams of attending Columbia University, and Miss Wilcox encourages both of them. They both take jobs at the Glenmore Inn, where Grace Brown and Chester Gillette come to stay. Before Grace is murdered, she entrusts Mattie with her letters and asks Mattie to burn them. After Grace's body is found and Mattie finds herself unable to dispose of the letters as Grace asked, she reads them instead, and she uncovers a motive for Gillette's murder of Grace as well as motivation to follow her own dreams.
Jennifer Donnelly's books are all good. This particular novel's narrative flashes backward and forward in time, but the plot is not difficult to follow, and in the end, Donnelly's reasons for telling the story in this less linear fashion are clear. Mattie is an engaging heroine, representative of so many girls of her age who were expected to marry, often without love, and raise a family. Weaver is an interesting character too. His father was killed in a racial hate crime, but rather than making Weaver fearful of whites, it instead empowered him to stand up for himself when he encounters racism. Like Mattie, the reader can have no doubt that Weaver will go to Columbia and become a fine lawyer despite the odds. Donnelly's setting is vividly painted for the reader, both in time and place—which is a particular gift of Donnelly's and something I have enjoyed about all of her books.
I would recommend this book even to readers who aren't necessarily fans of YA, mainly because I think readers will enjoy learning about this time and place and will like Mattie and her friends and family (except, of course, for those we aren't supposed to like). Grace Brown's murder is more or less incidental to the plot, as the main story is Mattie's coming of age.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
I thought about counting this book as a crime/mystery book as part of the Mixing it Up Challenge, but I ultimately decided not to because the crime is not the center of the novel.
Full disclosure: I obtained this book via PaperBackSwap.
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Post © Dana Huff
A Northern Light, Jennifer Donnelly
January 24, 2012
Ten Fictional Crushes
Some time back, I discussed some historical crushes, and I have previously discussed my ten fictional best friends. Why not share my ten fictional crushes? Since this weeks' Top Ten Tuesday is a "pick your own" topic, this weeks seems like the perfect time. Don't necessarily view these in a particular order.
James Alexander Malcolm MacKenzie Fraser. If you have read the Outlander series, I don't need to say any more. You know exactly what I'm talking about. My husband is a redhead, and let's just say my crush on Jamie may have contributed to my interest in red-headed men.
Severus Snape. OK, I admit this one is weird. He's mean. He's given to pettiness. That comment he makes about Hermione's teeth in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is pretty much unforgivable. I just really love his characterization. When I discovered in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows that he had carried a torch for Lily Evans Potter for most of his life, I was sold. In fact, my favorite chapter in the whole book series is "The Prince's Tale" in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows . Plus, Alan Rickman.
Faramir. Yeah, Aragorn was never my cup of tea, but Faramir is a really cool guy, and I was glad when Eowyn woke up to that fact and ditched her awkward crush on Aragorn for true love with Faramir. He's noble and brave. Pippin thought so highly of him that he named his son after him, you know.
Father Ralph de Briccasart. Just like Meggie. Sigh. Richard Chamberlain in that miniseries probably contributes as much to my Father Ralph crush as Alan Rickman's portrayal does to my Snape crush.
Rhett Butler. So bad. So smooth. And yet so in love with Scarlett (for whatever reason!). Honestly, Margaret Mitchell had to have been thinking about Clark Gable when she wrote the novel because he's just perfect for the part. I remember when I read the book the first time, even though I hadn't seen the movie, I knew Clark Gable played the role in it, and I thought even then that she had to have been thinking about Gable. I have to say, that first time, I pictured Scarlett as a redhead, even though she's described as having dark hair, but now Vivian Leigh just is Scarlett.
Captain Frederick Wentworth. Come on. You've read that letter, haven't you? If you have, you need no further explanation. Plus, he's a keeper. Even though he was rejected, he was still in love with Anne, and he gave her a second chance. I can't imagine they were anything but perfectly happy together.
Louis de Pointe du Lac. Lestat was a bit stuck on himself for my taste, and favorite book in the Vampire Chronicles has always been Interview with the Vampire .
Speaking of which, Edward Cullen. Yeah, I know. This one is really wrong. I don't like this about myself, but there it is.
Fitzwilliam Darcy. Naturally. I actually have a mug at work labeled Mrs. Darcy. I had a travel mug with the same label, but it broke, and a friend bought me a new Mrs. Darcy mug for Christmas. That is a good friend.
This last is a bit of a cheat, but Nate from the book I'm currently writing, which is as yet untitled. I see him as a sort of amalgamation of Jeff Buckley and Jack White. He's kind of dreamy. He is based on the Irish hero Naoise from the Legend of Deirdre.
photo credit: Darwin Bell
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Post © Dana Huff
Ten Fictional Crushes
