2018 - 11 Retellings - What have your read. what can you recommend

[Lyn (Readinghearts)]

What books from the Retellings shelf did you end up reading? Put a couple lines and let us know what you thought or if you would recommend them. Don't forget to include a shelf nomination with your "review" so that we can start building our list for the new procedure to begin in Jan. 2019

[Lisette]

I've finished a fairy tale and enjoyed it a lot.

▶ I read Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik [4-nov-18] ★★★★


I really enjoyed Spinning Silver. I liked the world building and attention to detail. The story is very loosley based on Rumplestilsken. Which is most clearly seen in the money lender's daughter Miryem ability to turn silver into gold. But apart from that not much is like the original fairytale. At first I had to get used to the shifting narrators, but later on I didn't mind. I loved the characters. The beautiful writing pulled me in from the start. I'd reccomend this book to everyone who loves stories with a fairytale feeling and a darker side to the story.

▶ Shelf nomination: New York Times Best Sellers (not enough books on shelf)
My new shelf nomination: Guilty Pleasure Reads Books

[Tien]

wow, that was a quick read, Lusie! You're really getting back into reading, hey :)

But, Novik's always a wonderful read so I'm not surprised.

[Lisette]

Thanks, Tien. Yes I'm reading a lot of books at the moment :) I like her book too. I have only read 2 of her books so far so I should read more of them.

[Jamie]

I decided to read a bunch of smaller stories this month, all retellings. I will use this comment to come back to and add as I read them.

Snegorochka: The Snow Maiden, a retelling of the Russian Fairy Tale was a story I had not heard before. It was interesting but kind of sad and pointless to be honest. It makes me wonder if anything got lost from the story over the years of re-telling. (2/5)

The Princess and the Pea: A Very Short Tale was written by Diane Setterfield who wrote The Thirteenth Tale and that's why it caught my interest. A funnier version of the original story for sure. (4/5)


My shelf nomination is Quirky

[Lisette]

Because several people recommended it I've read The Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman


This was an enjoyable quick read. The story was nice and the pictures were lovely. For me the story was too short and lacked depth. I still liked it though. I'd reccomend this book. Though I'd not buy it, but if the library has got it then it's worth it if you like fairytales.

▶ Shelf nomination: pleasantly-surprised

[Tien]

Lusie wrote: "I already nominated a shelf, but let me know if I'm allowed to nominate another one. "

Yes! For each book read/reviewed :)

[Lisette]

Thanks! i've added a shelf to my post.

[Susan]

I followed Tien's suggestion and read The Sleeper and the Spindle, and I'm glad I did. I gave it 4 stars, but that's only because I am very stingy with my 5's.

My review:
"I really liked Gaiman's original fairy tale, which uses many of the elements of "Sleeping Beauty" in an entirely new way. The art work Chris Riddell created to illustrate it is striking, and definitely adds to the story.

I have trouble deciding what age I think it's appropriate for. A number of people have shelved it as YA, but I'm not sure I agree. Still, it's no more gruesome than the original fairy tale."

I nominate https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/... as a potential shelf.

[Lisette]

Susan, I didn't think the story was gruesome so Young Adult is appropriate. And I agree that the illustrations are very good and are a nice addition to the story.

[Rosemary]

I was happy to get to The Robber Bridegroom by Eudora Welty. It's an easy read for a classic.

Innocent rich man Clement Musgrove meets bandit Jamie Lockhart one night in an inn on the shores of the Mississippi. Jamie is affected by the man’s trust enough not to steal from him, but he does seduce the planter’s beautiful daughter, unbeknownst to either of them. And there is a third witness to their meeting, who will live to invade their lives again.

With a wicked stepmother added to the cast list, and mistaken identities a-plenty, this is a rollicking fairy tale for the American south with hints of feminism, witchcraft, and treachery adding to the mix. It was a lovely tale that made me smile over and over again.

[Coralie]

I read The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter which I enjoyed (probably because it was retelling classic horror stories rather than fairy tales). I was a bit doubtful at first but I came to enjoy the interjections by the characters which helped to give it a light-hearted feel. I gave it four stars and will probably read the sequel.
I nominate https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/... victorian as a future shelf.

[Tien]

Rosemary wrote: "I was happy to get to The Robber Bridegroom by Eudora Welty. It's an easy read for a classic.

Innocent rich man Clement Musgrove meets bandit Jamie Lockhart one night in an inn on ..."

Rosemary, please let me know your nominated shelf :)

[Tien]

Lusie wrote: "▶ Shelf nomination: New York Times Best Sellers"

Lusie, my apologies, but Susan has just reminded me that we had a ruling for minimum number of a books for a shelf to qualify as a monthly shelf and that number is 1,000. I just noticed that the above nominated shelf only has 558 books. Could you nominate another instead of this, please? Sorry & thanks!

[Lisette]

Sorry, I had missed that. My new shelf nomination: Guilty Pleasure Reads Books

[Rosemary]

Tien wrote: "Rosemary, please let me know your nominated shelf :) "

Oh, I totally missed that! Thank you.

▶ Shelf nomination: 1990s

[Lisette]

I have read The Beast's Heart by Leife Shallcross


This was a very charming and enjoyable read. I love the story of Beauty and the beast, and like that in this book we saw the story through the eyes of the beast. I thought it was very hard to put down the book.

▶ Shelf nomination: Love stories

[Tien]

Yay!! Sooo glad you enjoyed it, Lusie :D :D :D

[Lisette]

Thanks Tien! I really enjoyed it :)

[Paige]

I read Mr. MERCEDES and I highly recommend it to people who love horror and a good thriller. One of Kings Best. Another one I recommend is Ron Chernow's Biography of one of America's First Founding Fathers, Treasure Secretary, Alexander Hamilton. Was absolutely brilliant and well put together.

[Tien]

I read The Goddess Chronicle but unfortunately, didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would. It started really well but the middle didn't really grab me at all and the ending, well, it's a very dark book & let's keep it at that. I also don't know Japanese myths so I can't comment on how accurate it is. ★★ from me :/

I'll nominate: unreliable-narrator

[Tien]

Paige wrote: "I read Mr. MERCEDES and I highly recommend it to people who love horror and a good thriller. One of Kings Best. Another one I recommend is Ron Chernow's Biography of one of America's First Founding..."

Is that a retelling, Paige?

[Lisette]

Tien wrote: "I read The Goddess Chronicle but unfortunately, didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would. It started really well but the middle didn't really grab me at all and the ending, well..."

That's a shame Tien!

[Marina]

I've read The Snow Child, 4 stars. I liked almost everything about the book: the landscapes and the way life in Alaska was described, the characterization, the story itself... My only complaint is that I couldn't really connect with Mabel and her terrible loss and longing - I have no children and don't want any, so it was difficult for me to truly understand her. Hence the 4 stars instead of 5. I would definitely recommend the book.

*

My shelf nomination: travel

[Sassafrass]

I read Geekerella. It was adorable. I loved the cosplay aspect to it and thought that it made the retelling more interesting.

I listened to it on audio and that that the narrators did a good job.

[Tien]

Your nominated shelf, Sassafrass?

[Lisette]

Marina, I loved the snow child too. A very good book.

[Sassafrass]

Tien wrote: "Your nominated shelf, Sassafrass?"

Road Trip

[Tien]

I've just finished Ink (Skin #1) which I found to be shelved as retellings by 1 user. It's not really a retelling in the usual sense but rather it contained many fables/folktales (which we would also recognised though it was adapted to the book's universe) that are used as learning tools for MC. It's a pretty interesting world; division of people being the marked (those inked; ie. tattoos) & the blanks (ie. clean skins / no tattoos). 3.5 stars from me & recommended to fans of The Giver

Nominating: resistance

[Elvenn]

I've finished A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas, which I read also for Bookopoly PAS edition (my 50th move!) and Seriously Serial '18 (#2).

I found this book far better than the previous one. The author seems to have paid heed to honest and constructive reviews as- except in the first 50 pages- she's avoided many of the problems of book #1, a book that in my opinion was interesting and entertaining but full of holes.

Well, in this volume most were fixed: We have a Feyre that shows intelligence, that's still resourceful and has character but without being irrational or capricious. And as she's valued for more than being the only non-ugly woman in miles, other beautiful female characters could be introduced without the risk of stealing her limelight. The most interesting characters of the first book reappear (like Lucien) but all the cardboard characters are gone, replaced with rich relatable individuals with stories and desires of their own. The story arc and the book in general felt far more organized and I can only think of one scene that was useless to the plot (but included as fan service...) And while on the subject, the author seems to have paid more attention to how she described the sex scenes, without just enumerating what each part of the protagonists was doing.

All this doesn't mean there aren't things to improve, as more character depth resulted in less background and low-fairy descriptions and a great part of this installment borrows from common tropes. (view spoiler)[We have many Deus ex Machina, a Prince Charming with 21st century values (in a Medieval world with unexplained Contemporary characteristics), a Fayre that evolves into a full blown Mary Sue with more sex appeal than Sookie Stackhouse, that gets doubly trained (Time to Unlock More True Potential) and is overhauled as a mage instead of staying as a rogue. (hide spoiler)] But, well, it's hard to complain about tropes when many are the reason why we read a retelling in the first place...!

Rating: 5 stars

Shelf nomination: Asia

[Christina]

I finished Of Beast and Beauty, which is obviously a Beauty and the Beast retelling. And a rather different one as, the Beast is the prisoner this time around. I really enjoyed it, gave it 5 stars. The narrator was great and I really liked the characters and the story. A very interesting take on the original. Though I will warn everyone that it does get rather dark at some points, like, dying babies and leprosy (sort of) kind of dark. It is not cute and fluffy.

While this book is on several other challenges I have, none are under the PAS group. Sadly, I was ill prepared.

And for my recommendation, I am on and Aliens kick. And I'm taking you all down with me.

[Tien]

Glad you enjoyed that one, Christina, I found it a bit weird! But yes, it did get quite dark.

[Christina]

Oh, it was definitely weird. But I like weird. Lol.

[D.G.]

Christina wrote: "I finished Of Beast and Beauty, which is obviously a Beauty and the Beast retelling. And a rather different one as, the Beast is the prisoner this time around. I really enjoyed it, ..."

I really liked that one!