C.C. Thomas's Blog, page 3
May 18, 2015
A Hit and A Miss
American Gods by Neil GaimanAdult Fantasy
For me, Neil Gaiman is a very hit or miss author. When he hits it, it's out of the park. It's a book so good you can't resist telling other people about the book and such an amazing author. He can string together stories and words like a master weaver. When he misses, it's so off the mark, it should be measured in astronomical terms. This book, for me, was a mixture of both.
The first part of the book is a gigantic miss. It takes forever to care about the characters or even understand what they have to do with one another and how their stories combine. I put the book down about twenty times and only persisted because I finish every book I start, no exceptions. I'm glad I did, though, because the second half of the book is a huge hit. Once I actually started caring about them, the pages seemed to roll by faster and faster and I couldn't wait to hear how the whole thing would end.
Throughout it all, I did particularly love the mythical references. I raced to my computer time and again to Wiki who all of these fascinating characters were. I can't imagine such a brain that could hold all the information and make a story out of it. The mythical information was much more pleasing to read about than the main character, though.
For me, Neil Gaiman is a very hit or miss author. When he hits it, it's out of the park. It's a book so good you can't resist telling other people about the book and such an amazing author. He can string together stories and words like a master weaver. When he misses, it's so off the mark, it should be measured in astronomical terms. This book, for me, was a mixture of both. The first part of the book is a gigantic miss. It takes forever to care about the characters or even understand what they have to do with one another and how their stories combine. I put the book down about twenty times and only persisted because I finish every book I start, no exceptions. I'm glad I did, though, because the second half of the book is a huge hit. Once I actually started caring about them, the pages seemed to roll by faster and faster and I couldn't wait to hear how the whole thing would end.
Throughout it all, I did particularly love the mythical references. I raced to my computer time and again to Wiki who all of these fascinating characters were. I can't imagine such a brain that could hold all the information and make a story out of it. The mythical information was much more pleasing to read about than the main character, though.
May 14, 2015
Much Better Than I Expected
Stranded #2: Trial by Fire by Jeff ProbstAdolescent Adventure
I really didn't expect much from this series, but what a pleasant surprise they have been. They're great! This is the second in a trilogy and you have to read them in order. This one starts right where the other stopped...literally the very next moment.
Four brothers and sisters are still stranded on an island. Now, they have to learn to survive on their own, which won't be easy as they are typical techno kids of today. They know nothing of surviving in the wild. They really are surviving with scrounging to find foo, water and shelter. No breaks here! This makes the story realistic and so much better! They encounter more defeats than successes, but they don't give up. What a great lesson for young people! This one has less adventure, but more survival than the first as the stakes for their lives are upped minute by minute. Equal time is given to all of the main characters and it's hard to say which one I like best. All are fallible and loveable and brave. It's also a story of a fractured family learning to work together, which is the real lesson behind the Hollywood TV glamour of the name on the front.
In case you're worried, the books are not like the show. This book is full of heart and perfectly safe and ethically appropriate for young people. There are adventures and thrills from the first page to the last. This one doesn't end so you'll have to read the third in the trilogy to finish the story. These are great books for reluctant readers. They're short and really hold the reader's attention. My students eagerly await the next installment, constantly asking me when it's coming out. It's a good read for boys or girls.
I really didn't expect much from this series, but what a pleasant surprise they have been. They're great! This is the second in a trilogy and you have to read them in order. This one starts right where the other stopped...literally the very next moment.
Four brothers and sisters are still stranded on an island. Now, they have to learn to survive on their own, which won't be easy as they are typical techno kids of today. They know nothing of surviving in the wild. They really are surviving with scrounging to find foo, water and shelter. No breaks here! This makes the story realistic and so much better! They encounter more defeats than successes, but they don't give up. What a great lesson for young people! This one has less adventure, but more survival than the first as the stakes for their lives are upped minute by minute. Equal time is given to all of the main characters and it's hard to say which one I like best. All are fallible and loveable and brave. It's also a story of a fractured family learning to work together, which is the real lesson behind the Hollywood TV glamour of the name on the front.
In case you're worried, the books are not like the show. This book is full of heart and perfectly safe and ethically appropriate for young people. There are adventures and thrills from the first page to the last. This one doesn't end so you'll have to read the third in the trilogy to finish the story. These are great books for reluctant readers. They're short and really hold the reader's attention. My students eagerly await the next installment, constantly asking me when it's coming out. It's a good read for boys or girls.
May 13, 2015
Humor Isn't This Book's Strength
I Funny by James Patterson and Chris GrabensteinAdolescent Realism and Humor
First of all, this book was so NOT funny. The jokes are corny and ridiculous and so old that Rodney Dangerfield might have used them in his acts. There are jokes you would find in a joke book from 40 years ago. I don't think I even smiled one time. Lest you think I have a more highly developed taste in humor because of my advanced aga, I have asked my students who have read the book if they liked it. Every one said, "Not really. It's not that funny." But, that's okay, because the real strength of the book isn't the humor. Other than the bad jokes, the book is really pretty good.
Jamie wants to become a famous standup comedian so he spends most of the book trying out his comedy routine on the reader. Once you know Jamie's real story, it becomes easier to root for him.
There is one thing I really like about James Patterson's adolescent series, both this one and Middle School. They both are full of heart and, behind the jokes and laughter, is a real story with a hurting kid and how they are trying to deal with their situation. Great role models for real kids! It's also a great book for kids with disabilities. The authors don't cut James any breaks because he's in a wheelchair and it is, literally, only the second book I have ever read about the main character being in a wheelchair. It does have some pretty brutal stuff in it. There are awful life situations, extreme violence, bullying and isolation. It maybe needs a PG13 rating. No bad language, but really heavy doses of sadness and serious family dysfunction.
First of all, this book was so NOT funny. The jokes are corny and ridiculous and so old that Rodney Dangerfield might have used them in his acts. There are jokes you would find in a joke book from 40 years ago. I don't think I even smiled one time. Lest you think I have a more highly developed taste in humor because of my advanced aga, I have asked my students who have read the book if they liked it. Every one said, "Not really. It's not that funny." But, that's okay, because the real strength of the book isn't the humor. Other than the bad jokes, the book is really pretty good.
Jamie wants to become a famous standup comedian so he spends most of the book trying out his comedy routine on the reader. Once you know Jamie's real story, it becomes easier to root for him.
There is one thing I really like about James Patterson's adolescent series, both this one and Middle School. They both are full of heart and, behind the jokes and laughter, is a real story with a hurting kid and how they are trying to deal with their situation. Great role models for real kids! It's also a great book for kids with disabilities. The authors don't cut James any breaks because he's in a wheelchair and it is, literally, only the second book I have ever read about the main character being in a wheelchair. It does have some pretty brutal stuff in it. There are awful life situations, extreme violence, bullying and isolation. It maybe needs a PG13 rating. No bad language, but really heavy doses of sadness and serious family dysfunction.
May 12, 2015
The Strength is In the Characterization
A Change in Altitude by Anita ShreveAdult Fiction
From reading the back and blurbs about the book, I really expected it to be much more exciting and thrilling than it was. From the back of the book, it seems to be about a thrilling misadventure that changes a young woman's life and marriage. That's certainly not my take on the book, but maybe it helps to sell more?
This book is really about a young woman and the slow dissolution of her marriage. Margaret marries Patrick and then travels with him to Africa where he is conducting research on equatorial diseases. Quite frankly, I questioned the marriage from the beginning. It isn't the story of a love affair gone wrong, but a rather boring marriage gone completely off track. Margaret has trouble adjusting to life in another country, especially one as brutal and hard as this one. Margaret can't find enough to fill her days and eventually finds a job, and a life, as a photographer. This opens her up to different ideas and new people and leads to her questioning her way of life. Central to this is a terrible tragedy that occurs during a hiking expedition and if I were being terribly literary, I could trace the symbolism of the accident and the couple's marriage.
It's a shame the book is marketed the way it is. I think it's beautifully told and the strength of the story is in the crumbling marriage and Margaret's growing awareness of her self as a being separate from her husband in a way that reminds me of Chopin's "Awakening". Shreve's style is very easy to read with a straightforward narrative that has the pages just skimming along. I can't wait to pick up another of her books.
From reading the back and blurbs about the book, I really expected it to be much more exciting and thrilling than it was. From the back of the book, it seems to be about a thrilling misadventure that changes a young woman's life and marriage. That's certainly not my take on the book, but maybe it helps to sell more?This book is really about a young woman and the slow dissolution of her marriage. Margaret marries Patrick and then travels with him to Africa where he is conducting research on equatorial diseases. Quite frankly, I questioned the marriage from the beginning. It isn't the story of a love affair gone wrong, but a rather boring marriage gone completely off track. Margaret has trouble adjusting to life in another country, especially one as brutal and hard as this one. Margaret can't find enough to fill her days and eventually finds a job, and a life, as a photographer. This opens her up to different ideas and new people and leads to her questioning her way of life. Central to this is a terrible tragedy that occurs during a hiking expedition and if I were being terribly literary, I could trace the symbolism of the accident and the couple's marriage.
It's a shame the book is marketed the way it is. I think it's beautifully told and the strength of the story is in the crumbling marriage and Margaret's growing awareness of her self as a being separate from her husband in a way that reminds me of Chopin's "Awakening". Shreve's style is very easy to read with a straightforward narrative that has the pages just skimming along. I can't wait to pick up another of her books.
May 11, 2015
Not a Gripping Thrill Ride
Inventing English: A Portable History of the Language by Seth Lerer
Nonfiction
This is not a book to pick up and read for pleasure...unless you are a word geek like me. I did read the book for pleasure, though, and so my review will focus on that rather than the scholarly implications and uses this book would have.
As for pleasure, I couldn't really rate it above just an average book. I do read linguistic books quite often, just for fun, and this wasn't nearly as good as some others I have read. The first part of the book was extremely tedious to get through. That might be because I have already read similar books and have even taken classes in the subject of Old and Middle English, or it could be because the author, I felt, gave too much of the book in that language and didn't really make it accessible for a casual reader. It was as if he knew way more than he was telling and couldn't really figure out a way to bridge his knowledge with someone much less knowledgeable. However, if you can hold on to the last half of the book, you're liable to be in for a real surprise. I just loved the last few chapters, about the impact of African American music and Mark Twain on the development of the American language. Those were both really new topics for me and I read them eagerly and with great interest. They even included fellow Kentuckian Jesse Stuart! Could my interest have been because the second half was clearly American and the first half, the Queen's English? Possibly so.
Regardless, if you're a scholar, I can't imagine a better book to encourage and enhance your studies. If you're just a casual linguist like me, it might be better to take the author's advice in the introduction and read a chapter here and there and let it sink in, rather than straight through, like I did. My way made for a bumpy, long ride.
NonfictionThis is not a book to pick up and read for pleasure...unless you are a word geek like me. I did read the book for pleasure, though, and so my review will focus on that rather than the scholarly implications and uses this book would have.
As for pleasure, I couldn't really rate it above just an average book. I do read linguistic books quite often, just for fun, and this wasn't nearly as good as some others I have read. The first part of the book was extremely tedious to get through. That might be because I have already read similar books and have even taken classes in the subject of Old and Middle English, or it could be because the author, I felt, gave too much of the book in that language and didn't really make it accessible for a casual reader. It was as if he knew way more than he was telling and couldn't really figure out a way to bridge his knowledge with someone much less knowledgeable. However, if you can hold on to the last half of the book, you're liable to be in for a real surprise. I just loved the last few chapters, about the impact of African American music and Mark Twain on the development of the American language. Those were both really new topics for me and I read them eagerly and with great interest. They even included fellow Kentuckian Jesse Stuart! Could my interest have been because the second half was clearly American and the first half, the Queen's English? Possibly so.
Regardless, if you're a scholar, I can't imagine a better book to encourage and enhance your studies. If you're just a casual linguist like me, it might be better to take the author's advice in the introduction and read a chapter here and there and let it sink in, rather than straight through, like I did. My way made for a bumpy, long ride.
May 10, 2015
A Story Well Told
The Last Guardian: Artemis Fowl #8 by Eion ColferYoung Adult Fantasy
I can't imagine a better ending to a series than this!
It's always sad to say goodbye to a friend and Artemis (and Holly, Foaly, and Butler) started to feel like my friends in the very first book. Not the kind of friend where you go eat out, but the kind of friend you need when you've committed a crime and you need help covering up the evidence. Those kinds of friends. Watching Artemis transition from the first book to the last was a true literary treasure, an experience worthy of all the hours I've spent reading about the book and talking about the book. It's one I always recommended to my students and I hope they recommend and on and on.
In this last installment, Artemis is paired against Opal, evil genius versus evil genius. All the old characters are back, including Mulch Diggums. The stakes here are high: Opal has devised a way to kill off all of humanity and reign as the supreme fairy goddess. Naturally, Artemis's pride won't allow him to concede defeat. Then, there is the matter of his twin brothers, who he has grown quite fond of. (Dear Mr. Colfer, please make a separate series about these two. They are hilarious!) In order to save the world, though, Artemis has to lose himself. Or, like always, does he have something up his sleeve?
I can't say enough how much I have loved this series and how much I loved this book. I cried and cried at the end and think that is the perfect way to say goodbye. Tears and laughter and a knowledge of time well spent and story well told. Thank you, Mr. Colfer, for these stories. It was a pleasure and honor to tag along on such a wild and imaginative ride.
I can't imagine a better ending to a series than this!
It's always sad to say goodbye to a friend and Artemis (and Holly, Foaly, and Butler) started to feel like my friends in the very first book. Not the kind of friend where you go eat out, but the kind of friend you need when you've committed a crime and you need help covering up the evidence. Those kinds of friends. Watching Artemis transition from the first book to the last was a true literary treasure, an experience worthy of all the hours I've spent reading about the book and talking about the book. It's one I always recommended to my students and I hope they recommend and on and on.
In this last installment, Artemis is paired against Opal, evil genius versus evil genius. All the old characters are back, including Mulch Diggums. The stakes here are high: Opal has devised a way to kill off all of humanity and reign as the supreme fairy goddess. Naturally, Artemis's pride won't allow him to concede defeat. Then, there is the matter of his twin brothers, who he has grown quite fond of. (Dear Mr. Colfer, please make a separate series about these two. They are hilarious!) In order to save the world, though, Artemis has to lose himself. Or, like always, does he have something up his sleeve?
I can't say enough how much I have loved this series and how much I loved this book. I cried and cried at the end and think that is the perfect way to say goodbye. Tears and laughter and a knowledge of time well spent and story well told. Thank you, Mr. Colfer, for these stories. It was a pleasure and honor to tag along on such a wild and imaginative ride.
May 9, 2015
For a Younger Historian
How They Croaked: The Awful Ends of the Awfully Famous by Georgia Bragg
Young Adult Nonfiction/History
This book is a behind the scenes look at the deaths of 19 famous historical figures. Some of the interesting stories interred within were King Tut, Mozart, Napoleon, James Garfield, Henry VIII, Einstein, Galileo and Charles Darwin. Most kids will have heard of these famous names, but won't know how they died. The only connection or theme between any of them is just their gross deaths, which does make the book jumpy and disconnected. I do question some of the research and facts and a bibliography would have been nice. The formatting of the book was top notch--the layout, the different fonts, the trivia bars, the graphics--it all makes for a very pleasant and interesting read.
This is definitely a book for a junior historian. Most of the information, facts and trivia were well-known to me. However, it certainly wasn't boring! The book was very focused on the gross-out factor with each story more weird and disgusting than the previous. Bragg's writing style is conversational and should appeal to young reluctant readers. There was a heavy reliance on pus and rotting flesh as the "cool factor". I think most kids will be fascinated, especially at how very different our lives are and things that are not a big deal today was a killer back then.
Young Adult Nonfiction/HistoryThis book is a behind the scenes look at the deaths of 19 famous historical figures. Some of the interesting stories interred within were King Tut, Mozart, Napoleon, James Garfield, Henry VIII, Einstein, Galileo and Charles Darwin. Most kids will have heard of these famous names, but won't know how they died. The only connection or theme between any of them is just their gross deaths, which does make the book jumpy and disconnected. I do question some of the research and facts and a bibliography would have been nice. The formatting of the book was top notch--the layout, the different fonts, the trivia bars, the graphics--it all makes for a very pleasant and interesting read.
This is definitely a book for a junior historian. Most of the information, facts and trivia were well-known to me. However, it certainly wasn't boring! The book was very focused on the gross-out factor with each story more weird and disgusting than the previous. Bragg's writing style is conversational and should appeal to young reluctant readers. There was a heavy reliance on pus and rotting flesh as the "cool factor". I think most kids will be fascinated, especially at how very different our lives are and things that are not a big deal today was a killer back then.
May 7, 2015
Oh, Laini Taylor, Please Make More
Faeries of Dreamdark #2: Silksinger by Laini Taylor
Young Adult Fantasy
One is a lonely number. One=the number of people who have ever heard of this book series when I bring it up and that number is me. What a travesty! I shall have to carry the total fandom on my not-so-broad shoulders, then.
Truly, Laini Taylor is one of my absolute favorite writers of fantasy, for any age. She can take a story and weave magic into those tired old words like nobody's business-making scenes dance and jump on the page, making flat characters come alive in such a way that it's crazy to believe these tiny people couldn't exist. They must! It's too sad to picture a world without heroines like Silksinger and Magpie.
In this second, and sadly, last installment in the Dreamdark series, Magpie continues her search for another of the Djinn would need to be awakened in order to bring about a revolution and set the world to rights. She has one already and hears of another. Before she can get to it, though, the Djinn is on the run, protected by a very unlikely savior, a tiny whispering fairy who doesn't seem to have the strength to make one good yell, let alone help save the world.
I truly love these books. The characters are ones you root for, the world is one you want to see, and the fight is one for goodness. I hope that more people pick these up. While this one is not the perfect 5 score of the first in the series, Blackbringer, it is an amazing read. I hope this review might encourage a few more readers. Perhaps our fandom will grow and we can collectively talk the author into writing the rest of them. After all, there are 5 more Djinn to rescue and who's going to do it if not us?
Young Adult FantasyOne is a lonely number. One=the number of people who have ever heard of this book series when I bring it up and that number is me. What a travesty! I shall have to carry the total fandom on my not-so-broad shoulders, then.
Truly, Laini Taylor is one of my absolute favorite writers of fantasy, for any age. She can take a story and weave magic into those tired old words like nobody's business-making scenes dance and jump on the page, making flat characters come alive in such a way that it's crazy to believe these tiny people couldn't exist. They must! It's too sad to picture a world without heroines like Silksinger and Magpie.
In this second, and sadly, last installment in the Dreamdark series, Magpie continues her search for another of the Djinn would need to be awakened in order to bring about a revolution and set the world to rights. She has one already and hears of another. Before she can get to it, though, the Djinn is on the run, protected by a very unlikely savior, a tiny whispering fairy who doesn't seem to have the strength to make one good yell, let alone help save the world.
I truly love these books. The characters are ones you root for, the world is one you want to see, and the fight is one for goodness. I hope that more people pick these up. While this one is not the perfect 5 score of the first in the series, Blackbringer, it is an amazing read. I hope this review might encourage a few more readers. Perhaps our fandom will grow and we can collectively talk the author into writing the rest of them. After all, there are 5 more Djinn to rescue and who's going to do it if not us?
May 6, 2015
I Shall Never Watch the Movie
Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman CapoteClassic Fiction
I was a novice when I read this. I have never seen the movie nor have I ever read anything by Capote before. My only reference to the story was Audrey Hepburn being very stylish in commercials and film bits. So, my idea of the main character was of a very stylish and hip young woman, richly dressed and shopping for jewelry.
The film bits are showing the wrong parts, I'm thinking. That's really why I didn't read the book before--I just didn't want to read about a socialite shopping or whatever socialites do and consider important. However, Holly Golightly is such a tragic character, a bit of a hussy and certainly a gold digger extraordinaire. Normally, I would also find such characters abhorrent, but Golightly is so very sad and broken and has dressed the whole thing over in Tiffany-esque style. Like one of those diamonds, she took the cracked rock of her life and shined it up to dazzle the world with brilliance. One really can't help but admire her. I am a bit like the poor blokes in the book who fell in love with her without knowing it, feel better for having met her and feel a bit sad she left my life so soon. What a delightful feeling!
I highly recommend the book and shall never, ever watch the movie. I do love Capote's character so much and never want to hear a tarnishment of such a classic.
I was a novice when I read this. I have never seen the movie nor have I ever read anything by Capote before. My only reference to the story was Audrey Hepburn being very stylish in commercials and film bits. So, my idea of the main character was of a very stylish and hip young woman, richly dressed and shopping for jewelry.
The film bits are showing the wrong parts, I'm thinking. That's really why I didn't read the book before--I just didn't want to read about a socialite shopping or whatever socialites do and consider important. However, Holly Golightly is such a tragic character, a bit of a hussy and certainly a gold digger extraordinaire. Normally, I would also find such characters abhorrent, but Golightly is so very sad and broken and has dressed the whole thing over in Tiffany-esque style. Like one of those diamonds, she took the cracked rock of her life and shined it up to dazzle the world with brilliance. One really can't help but admire her. I am a bit like the poor blokes in the book who fell in love with her without knowing it, feel better for having met her and feel a bit sad she left my life so soon. What a delightful feeling!
I highly recommend the book and shall never, ever watch the movie. I do love Capote's character so much and never want to hear a tarnishment of such a classic.
May 5, 2015
Not My Favorite, But Still Pretty Good
The Rise of Nine: Lorien Legacies #3 by Pittacus LoreYoung Adult Paranormal F
antasy
I love this series and was so excited to get this installment, then I was so disappointed when I was reading it! It started off gangbusters just like the other two, then just got worse as the book went along.
In this, book three of the series and you absolutely have to read them in order, John is desperate to rescue Sam, his best friend, who was captured in the last book by the Mogadorians, an evil and brutal alien race. Because John is so focused on Sam, he has no time for his romantic aspirations with Sarah or Number Five. Pity, as those were some of my favorite parts of the last book. I think this is the reason I disliked this one so much.
My favorite past of this book and my new favorite character in this series is Number Nine. He can kick some serious butt and he makes John look like a whining wuss. Plus, he's funny and fallible and so very easy to root for. I also really liked the new character Number Eight, whom humans believe to be a reincarnated Vishnu, an Indian God. He was fascinating and I like the connection between him and Number Seven, Marina. As you can tell, there are a lot of new characters being introduced, maybe too many.
One of the things I loved about the previous books was the terrific characterization and the focus on the relationships between the characters. This book had none of this. The one was total battle and fighting and was definitely my least favorite one in the series so far.
antasyI love this series and was so excited to get this installment, then I was so disappointed when I was reading it! It started off gangbusters just like the other two, then just got worse as the book went along.
In this, book three of the series and you absolutely have to read them in order, John is desperate to rescue Sam, his best friend, who was captured in the last book by the Mogadorians, an evil and brutal alien race. Because John is so focused on Sam, he has no time for his romantic aspirations with Sarah or Number Five. Pity, as those were some of my favorite parts of the last book. I think this is the reason I disliked this one so much.
My favorite past of this book and my new favorite character in this series is Number Nine. He can kick some serious butt and he makes John look like a whining wuss. Plus, he's funny and fallible and so very easy to root for. I also really liked the new character Number Eight, whom humans believe to be a reincarnated Vishnu, an Indian God. He was fascinating and I like the connection between him and Number Seven, Marina. As you can tell, there are a lot of new characters being introduced, maybe too many.
One of the things I loved about the previous books was the terrific characterization and the focus on the relationships between the characters. This book had none of this. The one was total battle and fighting and was definitely my least favorite one in the series so far.
