The Talented Mr. Ripley

For one of my classes this year, I had to read the book, The Talented Mr. Ripley. Mos tof the books in this class, including The Secret Agent, I have not liked. This one was different. It is about a con man, Tom Ripley, who begins to admire the life an acquaintance leads in Europe. He admires it so much, that he murders the guy and takes over his life, convincing everyone that he is Dickie Greenleaf. The plot is fairly complex, but the book is easy to read and incredibly entertaining. When I have time, I might look into the sequels. I believe there are five total books featuring Tom Ripley.

One thing that must be said, is that the movie is not as good. Judging by the reviews online, it must be a fairly good movie if you have never read the book. However, when comparing it to the book, it just does not hold up. The movie adds characters and plot lines in an effort to make an already complex storyline even more complex, but the result is that the magic is lost.

My suggestion, read the book, forget the movie. That is not that surprising, as the only movie i have found so far that is better than the book, as I have mentioned before, was My Sister's Keeper.

The Secret Agent

I recently read Joseph Conrad's The Secret Agent. It'a a twisted story about a group of terrorists who talk more than they actually take action.

Okay so maybe it's a classic novel. Maybe people who know their stuff think it is amazing. All I know is when I read a book, I want it to be fun, not a chore. The Secret Agent wasn't just a chore. I wasn't just cleaning my room. I was cleaning the whole house. The complex narration style makes it incredibly difficult to read. I'm okay with this as long as at the end, I enjoyed the story in general. This is how I feel about Absalom Absalom by William Faulker. Incredibly hard to get through, but looking back, it was a great story. Looking back at Conrad's book, it still stunk.

Don't read it.

Apparently Nick Casavettes Agreed With Me

I just got back from seeing My Sister's Keeper in theaters.

It was everything great about the book, plus a much better ending. Go see it. Definitely worth it!

My Sister's Keeper

I should have written this review yesterday. If I had, it would have gone a little something like this:

I have absolutely nothing bad to say about this book. It is filled with completely realistic characters facing a situation where there is no right solution. Either way it is decided, someone's life will be ruined. And yet they have to decide.

There is only one problem with writing the review yesterday. Yesterday, I hadn't finished the book. And thus, I must amend my review. Because I do have bad things to say about this book. And it is difficult to remember why I loved it so much to begin with.

My Sister's Keeper, by Jodi Picoult, is about a thirteen year old girl named Anna. Anna was genetically engineered to be a perfect donor match for her leukemia stricken sister. Her entire life, she has fulfilled this duty, without any major complaints. But now, her family is asking for one more donation. One more donation that will likely not even save her sister. A kidney. Anna does not want to donate the kidney, part because of the risks to her own health, as well as the fact that in the end, it will most likely only prolong her sister's suffering, not save her life. Because of this, she sues her parents for medical emancipation.

As I read this book, I was fascinated. I could not put it down. I have not watched television for the past week, and for most of you who actually read this blog, you know how big of a deal that is for me. It was spectacular. The book is told from nearly everyone involved's perspectives, and you really get to know the characters. You can see where every single person is coming from, and relate to the character you feel closest to. Parents who read this book often relate to the mother who is trying desperately to save her oldest daughter's life. Those who aren't parents relate more with Anna, who wants so desperately to be able to make life altering decisions for herself.

But the end? The ending is 100 percent a cop out ending. I thought I was reading a book where the author would make a decision. I thought we would get to see the consequences of that decision. We don't. I'm not going to go into specifics about it, because I would encourage people to read this book at least for the thought provocation of what you would do if you were in this family's position. I don't want to ruin the ending. But trust me. It's a cop out. Ask me more about my opinions after you have finished.

The ending of the book made me forget why I loved the book in the first place, though I can remember that I did. It is in this regard that this book epically fails.

But hey, I'm just one person. I know a lot of people who love it. I know a lot of people who love all of Jodi Picoult's books. But I am not one of them.

An explanation of the rating, it is neutral for the sole reason that I know that I could not put it down. But like I said, the ending was terrible

Not Your Average Joseph and the Amazing Technicolored Dreamcoat

Reuben was the eldest of the children of Israel, with Simeon and Levi the next in line. Naphatali and Isachar and Asher and Gad, Zebulon and Dan took the total to nine. Jacob, Jacob and sons, Benjamin and Judah, which leaves only one. Jacob, Jacob and sons, Joseph, Jacob's favorite son.

But wait a minute, where does Dinah fit in????? Most people haven't even heard of her. But she's there. She is Jacob's thirteenth living child, nine months older than Joseph. Completely ignored in the Andrew Lloyd Weber musical, she is almost ignored in the Bible, save for mention of her birth and a comment that she was raped and her brothers avenging her.

However, Anita Diamant decided that this brief mention was the hint at a much larger story, and she set out to tell that story. The result was one of the best books I have ever read.

The Red Tent tells not only the story of Dinah, but also of Rachel, Leah, Zilpah and Bilhah, Jacobs four wives. The story revolves around the tradition of the red tent, into which women go when they "feel the pull of the moon". Once a month, when the women are on their periods, they sit together and share stories, allowing the children to take care of them and fetch them their food and drink for once instead of the other way around.

It opens with a prologue, where Dinah's voice comes from beyond the grave, lamenting what has become of the story. "We have been lost to each other for so long. My name means nothing to you, My memory is dust. This is not your fault, or mine. The chain connecting mother to daughter was broken, and the word passed to the keeping of men, who had no way of knowing. This is why I became a footnote." And so she starts her tale of what really happened to her, of the secrets that the women shared, of the rituals that the men could never know about.

It feels like nothing is left out of this book. It is divided into three sections. The first is entitled "My Mothers' Stories" which chronicle all of the many births, miscarriages, and the now famous deception in which Leah and Rachel were switched on Rachel's wedding day, and Leah actually married Jacob instead. However, even this is given an original twist, for it is Rachel's idea in the first place. It goes into detail about each of the four wives, all of whom Dinah calls her mothers, and shows why she loves each one individually. The second is called "My Story". This picks up when Dinah is a young child, old enough to narrate her life. It includes her childhood, during which she was Joseph's best friend, and goes through young adulthood. The third section is "Egypt", which is where Dinah eventually ends up and spends the rest of her days.

This original tale seems to take a unique spin on all of the Bible stories that people have come to know and love. It is not always happy and cheerful. In fact, it is more often than not incredibly emotional. But it seems real. You can feel Dinah's pain along with her. You can sympathize with her and truly understand her.

My only complaint is that the voice of the narrator is consistent throughout. Normally this would be the exact opposite of a complaint, however, Dinah chronicles her entire life. Yet, the voice when she was a toddler was the same as when she was an old woman. It was difficult to notice the passing of time because of this. I did not realize she was older than maybe twenty five tops when it mentioned she was closer to forty.

Though it is a thick book, it is not difficult by any means. I encourage everyone, not just those who are religious to look into it.

The future of the summer

Well, this summer already isn't going the way I had planned. This was going to be the summer of reading. It was going to be the summer where I finally made a dent in my bookshelf. Then one of my friends talked to one of my professors for next fall. I'm taking a class called "The Myth of Tolkien". It's only a one hundred level class, so I figured the course load would not be too rough. Maybe read one of the Lord of the Rings books, the Hobbit, MAYBE the Silmarillion. No. We are reading ALL of the Lord of the Rings books, the Hobbit AND the Silmarillion. Have you seen how thick some of those books are????? And so, though I read the Lord of the Rings when I was in middle school, I'm spending at least part of the summer rereading them in an effort to lighten the course load for next semester. Wish me luck!

One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies

My name is Ruby.
This book is about me.

It tells the deeply hideous story
of what happens when my mother dies
and I'm dragged three thousand miles away
from my gorgeous boyfriend, Ray,
to live in L.A. with my father,
who I've never even met
because he's such a scumbag that he
divorced my mom before I was born.

The only way I've ever even seen him
is in the movies,
since he's this mega-famous actor
who's been way too busy
trying to win Oscars
to even visit me once in fifteen years.

Everyone loves my father.
Everyone but me.

I did it. I broke my New Years resolution. I bought my first book. Not only did I buy a book, but it was one that I have not only read many times, but even owned it already.

Let me explain. Four years ago, I bought a book called One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies. I loved it. I read it many times, and loaned it to many people, and just all around loved it. Two and a half years ago, I loaned it to a friend. She kept telling me she was going to read it, never did, and never gave it back no matter how many times I asked. Over the years, I have considered rebuying it, but I never gave up hope that she would eventually return it. Also, they redesigned the cover, and the new one was hideous, but that was an entirely different issue. Well, two weeks ago, I had a major falling out with that friend. I have given up hope of the friendship being resolved any time soon, instead deciding to look fondly back on the memories we had, while letting go at the same time.

I was at the bookstore on Sunday, and was looking around the young adult section, and I saw the book. Not only did I see the book, but it was the old cover. I decided it was fate, and I must buy it. And so I did. I had really fond memories of this book, and I really wanted to read it again. It was hysterically funny, and made fun of all of the Lurlene McDaniel books I read so many of when I was in middle school.

Well, for those of you who know me well and have done the math, you'll realize I had not read it since my mother passed away, and I wondered if it would mean something different to me if I read it now.

It did.

The book is about Ruby Milliken, a 15 year old girl, whose mother has just recently passed away. It starts on a plane, which Ruby is on, on her way to live with her father, who she has never met, and really does not want to live with. It sounds like every other book written about a teenage girl whose mother dies. Except that her father turns out to be an Oscar winning actor in Hollywood. The book follows her life as she adjusts to living with a man who is acting like he wants to be the perfect father, yet ignored her the first fifteen years. She misses her best friend, her aunt, her boyfriend, and, more than anything else, her mom. Her only ally in this new strange land (she's originally from Boston), is her dad's gay assistant, Max, who does his best to mediate between her and her father.

The book is beautifully written, set up as a book of poems that make up Ruby's diary. The poems either deal with her mother's death, or her relationship with her father, rarely both. I can't speak for what it is like to move in with your movie star father, but as someone who lost her mother, I feel that the feelings are nailed perfectly. It tugged at my heart, and stirred up memories, but not in a bad way.

I reccomend this book to anyone who wants a quick, entertaining, enjoyable read. It will take no longer than a few hours, and it is completely worth it.

The Heart of a Chief

I know this was not on my list of To Read books, but I read it anyways. I had to for class. And it made me do some thinking. My class is about diverse children's literature. I expected these books to break down stereotypes. Well, so far I am disappointed. I felt like this book did nothing but reinforce them.

It is about a young Native American boy, in the sixth grade. He lives on a reservation, but is in a general public school, instead of going to school on the Res. This book follows his life over the first semester of school that year. He does school projects and talks with the council of the res. He lives with his grandfather and great aunt.

None of these things by themselves shouts stereotypes. Except that he lives with his grandfather because his father is an alcoholic. He talks to the tribe council because they want to build a casino. The only thing that is not necessarily reinforcing stereotypes is his class project is about changing the school mascot from the Chiefs to something less demeaning. However, even this is shown reinforcing some stereotypes. At one point, someone who is in his group, who is white, gets punched by someone who wants to keep the name. He responds to this by saying that he had a run in with "white hostiles". This seems to create a stereotype against white people at the very least. The only black person even mentioned abandoned her son because she was on drugs.

It was a fairly well written easy to read book, that can be used to talk about modern day Indian Reservations, because there are parts that are encouraging. It shows the children learning their Indian language in an effort to keep it alive. It shows an Indian family that still has two parents and the kids all living together happily, even though it is just one. But if it is used in children's classrooms, I feel like the teachers would have to be very careful about the stereotypes that are still cemented within the pages.

Luck in the Shadows

This was the second time I have read this book. And once the year is over and I allow myself to reread books again, I'm going to read it first thing. Because it is amazing. Let me elaborate.

Let's start with the basic plot, shall we? It takes the basic fantasy storyline and adds a few twists in that make it fairly original, or at least as original as a fantasy story can be.

It opens on bad guys, doing bad things, though we can't really tell what they are doing. After two pages it switches to the main character of the story, Alec, as he sits in a jail cell, having just been tortured for information he does not have. He wants to die, but knows that his captors are purposely leaving him alive so that they can sell him to slavers eventually. Great. More fun. Luck is on his side however, and a man is thrown into his cell who helps him escape. Seregil claims to be a bard and offers to take Alec on as an apprentice. Alec has no where else to go because he is an orphan (stop groaning, I already warned you it follows the basic fantasy storyline) so he follows Seregil around, learning all he has to teach. It turns out Seregil is more than just a bard, but also a Watcher. Not like the Buffy kind of Watcher, more like a spy. He works for a wizard named Nysander (who, if you would like to continue on the Buffy analogies, is actually more like a Watcher. A Giles type Watcher. Not a Seregil type Watcher. You catch my drift) who accepts Alec as a Watcher as well. However, Seregil and Alec are getting in further over their heads than they know, and it is obvious that trouble is brewing.

Over all, this is one of my favorite book series. It is unique enough to keep you into it yet standard enough that you can follow it. Some of the background characters have similar names so it is slightly hard to keep track of them to begin with, but in the end, that does not detract from the overall enjoyment or ability to understand it.

My one complaint is that it was slightly difficult to get into the first time I read it. The beginning is fairly uneventful because they need to set so much stuff up, and it gets slightly tedious. The second they meet Nysander, however, this all changes and the book is nearly impossible to put down.

When I read books, I immediately begin to think about which famous actors or actresses I would cast in the different roles. This book is the only exception I have found. The characters are so real, that they seem like real people to me. I cannot picture anyone playing them, because I can picture them so clearly as is. She has painted a near perfect image of these characters, and forgive the cliche, but I feel like the literally jump off of the page. I feel like I could really know them, and actually be friends with them.

I definitely recommend this book. Plow through the beginning, and don't give up, because, in the end, it is definitely worth it.

The Wonderful World of Tortall

When I said the bindings of my books were either broken or not touched, I wasn't kidding. And there is one author where I actually own two copies of all of her books, because I destroy them too quickly.


I read my first Tamora Pierce book when I was in the sixth grade, and there has been no turning back. I pretty much love them all.

So intermixed among the reviews of new books will be the occasional Tammy book, just because I think everyone should read them.

Just thought I would warn you.

My Twilight Dilemma

Twilight. You have all heard of it. If you haven't, I'm forced to ask, which rock is it exactly that you live under? I am fascinated by people's fascination with it, and even more than that, I'm fascinated by my own fascination.

To put it frankly, Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn are not good books. They are poorly written, the main characters are really annoying, and nearly all of the story lines are in some way derived from Buffy the Vampire Slayer (among other things). The values taught in the books are not values preteen girls should be reading about, yet so many of them are. When I really stop to think about it, they actually make me quite angry.

That being said, I am obsessed.

For years, friends had been telling me to read the book about Edward Cullen. He was the perfect man-the one all other men should strive to me. I knew nothing more about it other than he was a vampire. It did not interest me. Then last January, my friend told me about Twilight. She went into detail about the plot, and I was slightly intrigued. Then something clicked in my mind, and it dawned on me that if Twilight was about vampires, perhaps this was the Edward Cullen book, and perhaps I should actually read it. So I borrowed it from her.

I read it in a five hour sitting. It would have been four and a half hours, but my roommate made me take a shower in the middle of it. So I guess it was two sittings. The details are unimportant. The important thing was I was hooked. I read the next two before the end of the week, and was at the midnight release of Breaking Dawn.

This leads me to my mixed review. I figured I would break it down into Pros and Cons. I am going to skip the summary on this one on the assumption that most of you have either read it, or just don't care.

Pros
1.) The background characters are fascinating. I have never been more captivated by characters than I am by Jasper Hale, Alice Cullen, and Seth Clearwater. Even Charlie makes me smile. Meyer has a way of giving each character, no matter how small, enough of a story, that you can fall in love with them separate from the book. You do not need to love the book to be completely awestruck by Alice and Jasper's romance. In some ways I feel their love story had more depth than Bella and Edward's did.
2.) Meyer has an incredible ability to make you want to know more. It does not matter if you like the stories or not. You need to know what happens. Whether you gain this knowledge by finishing the books or asking your friends, the story is captivating and you cannot stop until you know how everything plays out. This is the main reason why I read it so quickly. I could not stop to savor it because I had to know what happens.
3.) Her characters are (most of the time) believable. With the exception of Edward, Carlisle, and Esme, I feel like the characters could really exist. Wait. Some of them are vampires. Let me rephrase. I feel like their personalities could really exist. Everyone has flaws. Everyone has strengths. And there are enough different personalities that nearly everyone can find someone they can relate to. Some girls see themselves as Bella, some as Alice, maybe even Angela. And every single girl has definitely met a Rosalie. It is an unfortunately unavoidable fact of life.

Cons
1.) Feminism. I think it sums it up right there. These are the most anti-feminist books I have read in a long time. Bella is completely useless without some sort of man in her life. She does nothing for herself, and goes into complete shut down mode when Edward leaves her, only to be brought out of it by Jacob. If Edward was not there protecting her, she would have died a long time ago because of stupid decisions she makes. Her entire existence hinges on her being the best wife and mother. I'm all for good wives and good mothers, but shouldn't there be more to life than just that? I'm normally the first person to defend chivalry. It is not dead. Or at least it shouldn't be. But does Bella even know how to open a car door for herself? Also, Bella carelessly continually wants to have sex, even though she knows the danger, and it is the man who has to calm the sexual female down and say, "Not now Bella, I would kill you." Which brings us to my next point.
2.) Sex. Once again, I feel the one word sums it up. By the time I was halfway through Book 3 in Breaking Dawn, I called my friend and said, "Have you figured out the moral of this story yet?" Her response was, "Become a vampire, because sex is fun." My thoughts exactly. There was some brief mention of sex in the other books, and it was very clear that there was going to be some in Breaking Dawn. But there was no warning that there was going to be that much, or that the books would focus on it so completely. The entire first and third books (within Breaking Dawn) were full of it. Either Bella was trying to get some, they were having it, or Emmett was making fun of it, and it got a bit overwhelming. I thought back to all of the preteen girls I saw at the bookstore the night before, and was horrified. This book was way too mature for the audience that was reading it. In my mind it does not matter what audience they are written for, it matters who is reading it. Meyer knew who was reading it. And gave parents no opportunity to stop their daughters, because there was no warning.
3.) Edward is a creepy stalker. The guy watches her sleep. From inside her bedroom. He follows her to Port Angeles without her knowledge (Okay, so that ended up being slightly helpful. But the point is he was still stalking her). He does not give her a single moment alone, save for a few "human minutes", as they call them, scattered throughout the books. Edward is far from the ideal man. He is pushy, demanding, and controlling, and I am convinced if he was not so attractive, there would have been a restraining order so fast, even Alice would not have seen it coming.
4.) Jacob is a creepy stalker. Once again, we are shown a guy who is supposed to be an ideal man. And he follows her around, will not accept her decision to be with Edward, and tricks her into kissing him even after she was engaged to Edward. And don't get me started with him imprinting on Renesmee when she was only a few minutes old. I don't care if his thoughts were not sexual. It still creeped me out.
5.) Bella is not the most selfless person ever, regardless of what the characters say. I can think of virtually no decision Bella made throughout the entire series that could be considered selfless. Sure, she told Mike to ask Jessica out, when Jessica really liked him, but she only did it to get him off of her back, not to help Jessica. She is one of the most selfish characters I have ever read (not to mention whiny), yet Edward and Jacob continually talk about how selfless she is. It makes no sense. It seems as though Meyer does not even know her own characters.

In short (okay, maybe not that short), I am obviously very conflicted about these books. They have the greatest and the worst characters and story lines I have read in a long time. And like I said, I could not put them down, and I continually recommend them to people. I guess my feeling is, young adult literature is written for an audience that is two years older or younger than the main character. Bella is 17 in Twilight. So if you are 15-19, they are great books, and you will be able to handle them. But please do not give them to an 11 year old, like I saw so many parents doing at the Breaking Dawn release. They were not written for them, and will give the way wrong impression.

The Beginning of a New Year

I looked at my bookshelf over the winter holidays and realized that I have a habit of buying books. The reason for this is obvious. I love to read. But then I realized, I read the same books over and over, and most of the books I buy sit unread. The bindings on my books are either not touched, or completely broken. I donated a lot of them over the summer, because my neighbor came over to help me clean, and went through my bookshelf book by book, asking if I was ever going read them, and if I even hesitated, she threw it in the donation pile. When we were done, I was still left with a full bookshelf of books I had never read before.

When I thought about how much money I wasted on books, I actually became slightly disgusted with myself.

Which brings us to my New Year Challenge. I am not going to spend any money on books this year. Libraries will become my friend, and my bookshelf will no longer be ignored.

I will start with reviews of books I have read in the past year, and I am rereading a couple of my favorites I haven't read in a year (after this I am not rereading everything, I promise!), and then I will start with my new books adventure!