Ali asked me last night if I had any plans on blogging about all the books that I have read this past summer. I had been thinking about creating this list just to help me keep track of books that I have read. I must say though, I enjoy reading and do not write book reviews. If I don't enjoy a book I stop reading it and don't finish it. I will read books and reflect later that the story may not have been the most developed or was the same plot of a previous book by that author. However, if I finish it there was something compelling to me.
Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden: I wrote about this book already.
The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova: A historical fiction that explores the legends of vampires and of Vlad Dracul. It weaves the story of a 16 year old girl who finds a mysterious book in her father's library with her father's story of investigating his advisors disappearance that was connected to this same book.
The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde: The first in the Thursday Next series, take place during an alternate time line in England. Crimes against literature are occurring and it is up to the heroine, Next, to put a stop to the actions of Acheron Hades.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince by JK Rowling - If you don't know the story of these books, I won't bother to fill you in. My only question is who dies in book 7. Rowling has said two characters.
Fox Evil and Acid Row by Minette Walters - Two very different stories from Minette Walters. She is normally considered a mystery writer, but these are not mysteries in the "whodunit" vein. Fox Evil is about an old widower in a small town. His children and the townspeople suspect of murdering his wife and want to terrorize him into confessing. Acid Row takes place in a subsidizing housing development during a riot, as the people are upset over a pedophile being transferred into their development. Walters stories utilize newspaper articles, and several narrators to keep the story moving, and to allow actions to occur on several fronts.
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke: I am 2/3 finished this story, and I am enjoying hearing about the return of magic to England and how these two magicians rediscovered what had been lost. I must admit I have never read a work of fiction with so many footnotes. The book is written as a biography of these magicians so some of the footnotes deal with referencs others to relate a story that the characters know about but without breaking the narrative. When footnotes are longer than a page you wonder if there is another way to do it. That being said I am enjoying this book.
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
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2 comments:
Wow, I've sucked you and Ali into reading material. Woo, hoo! I agree that the footnotes are a little strange, especially the long ones. I found I had a hard time deciding when to read them - after I finished the paragraph or before - and after I read them, I wasn't sure they were all necessary.
That said, I look forward to her next book. I think she left the story open for a prequel (based on all those footnotes!).
As for the JK Rowling books. My guess is Draco and Snape. Or one of the Weasley parents. I really don't think Harry will be killed off.
Hermione knits too!
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