Author: booknutgirls

booknutgirls http://thebooknutdotcom.wordpress.com I read. I blog. I sell books. I chauffeur my kids. What more do you need to know?

Suite Francaise

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I’ve spent the past week in France, enjoying the lyrical and evocative writing of Irene Nemirovsky. Amira highly recommended it a (long) while back, and so I was excited that my in person book group (which sometimes does pick really good books!) chose it this month.

It took me a bit to get into the book, but once I realized that there was no real plot, no real character development, but that it was a portrait of a time and a place and how individuals dealt with the time and place, I lost myself in it. And it was easy to do. The first part, Storm in June, dealt with the exodus of Paris in the wake of the German invasion. Nemirovsky followed a dozen or so people in the exodus, how they reacted to the crisis, how they managed to deal with an extreme situation. Some managed admirably, some horribly; some were noble and respectable, some were petulant and miserly. It was fascinating watching it all unfold, interesting to see how each individual person reacted to each individual situation.

The second part, Dolce, was my favorite of the two. It was the portrait of a country village after the German occupation and how the villagers responded to their German occupiers. My heart went out to Lucile, living with a horrible mother-in-law, and falling in love with the German who was living in her house. There was less going on in the second part, but I really thought Nemirovsky perfectly captured the emotions of a human being trapped between two realities.

And, then there’s the note at the end, about Nemirovsky’s history and how this book came to be. It shed a lot of light on how she treated some of her characters, especially wealthy and upper-middle-class women, and it made the whole book much more tragic.

And, because these popped out at me, I’ll include some of my favorite quotes…

From early on in Storm in June:

“I keep telling you, you don’t pay enough attention to the minor characters. A novel should be like a street full of strangers, where no more than two or three people are known to us in depth.”

And from Dolce:

She said “we” out of that sense of propriety which makes us pretend we share other people’s misfortunes when we’re with them (although egotism invairoable distorts our best inetntions so that in all inocencewe say to someone dying of tuberculosis, “I do feel for you, I do understand, I’ve had a cold I can’t shake off for three weeks now”).

Let them go where they want; as for me, I’ll do as I please. I want to be free. I’m not asking for superficial freedom, the freedom to travel, to leave this house (even thought aht would be unimaginably blissful). I’d rather feel free inside — to choose my own path, never to waver, not to follow the swarm. I hate this community spirit they go on and on about. The Germans, the French, teh Gaullists, they all agree on one thing: you have to love, think, live with other people, as part of a state, a country, a political party. Oh, my God! I don’t want to! I’m just a poor useless woman; I don’t know anything but I want to be free!

I’m a bit behind the times

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But the June Bookworms Carnival is up over at Things Mean a Lot. It’s a delightful collection of fairy tales, some of which I’ve never heard of, let alone read. It’s one of the reasons I like carnivals — expanding TBR lists!

And check here for a two chances to win a free book from nymeth!

The next edition of the Bookworms Carnival is going to be hosted by Jenn at Mixed Metaphor. The theme is relationships (NOT Harlequin-type romances, Jenn says). To submit a post, email jenn at mixedmetaphor dot net until the 11th of July.

Frivolity on a Sunday Morning

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Found via Becky:


Your Birthdate: September 17


You tend to find yourself lucky – both in business and in life.

And while being wealthy is nice, you enjoy sharing your abundance with others.

You put your luck to good use: you are very ambitious and goal oriented.

Often times, you get over excited and take on more than you can manage.

Your strength: Your ability to make your own luck

Your weakness: Thinking you can do it all

Your power color: Bronze

Your power symbol: Half Moon

Your power month: August

I’m chuckling about the “being wealthy” part…


Your Ice Cream Personality:


You are an incredibly modest person. You don’t feel comfortable bragging about yourself… or even receiving complements.

You have a wild reputation, but you’re not as wild as you seem. You take risks, but only measured risks.

You are a fairly open minded person with a wide range of tastes. You are quite accepting of unusual ideas and people.

You are a natural multitasker. You feel alive when you’re doing more than one thing at a time.

You can be a big dramatic and over the top sometimes. You are bold in every way

and the wild reputation part…


What Your Taste in Chocolate Says About You


You are sweet, mellow, and easily satisfied.

You don’t like anything too intense and dramatic.

Deep down, you’re a kid at heart… and you’re nostalgic for the past.

You are emotionally expressive and sensitive.

You’re effected by everything around you.

Your friends appreciate your open heart, but they are afraid of hurting your feelings.

You love to be the center of attention. You enjoy entertaining your friends.

You feel lost when no one is interested in you… You’re too interesting to be ignored.

and the center of attention part (though maybe secretly I do long to be the center of attention?)…


You Are Fruit Flavored Gum


You are quirky and independent. You don’t tend to follow any one style or rule book.

You are a mix and match type of person, and you draw inspiration from many sources.

While you’re definitely a bit unusual, you get along well with other people.

You’re eager to welcome anyone into your world. You are not judgmental at all.

You form close bonds with your friends, and your relationships tend to be very secure.

You hold firm to your beliefs and values, and you don’t let anyone talk you into compromising them.

this one, however, is spot on. 🙂

The Penderwicks on Gardam Street

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I knew I would love this book. The first charmed its way into all our hearts around here — I picked it up on a whim at the bookstore, drawn by the title, and never regretted the purchase — and because Jen, Leila, and Erin all highly recommended it, I knew going in that this one would be just as wonderful.

There are books that are exciting and thrilling, holding you on the edge of your chair; there are books that make you laugh; and there are books that contain numerous twists and turns of plot, intricately setting up the conclusion. The Penderwicks on Gardam Street is not one of those books.

Then there are the books that you just smile at, content knowing the end from nearly the beginning, savoring the characters and loving the plot — such as it is — and patiently waiting for the characters to realize what you already know. The Penderwicks on Gardam Street is one of those books.

All the things I loved about the first book are back: the sisters, of course, but especially Batty (she’s at that wonderful, fun, precocious age); their lovable, endearing, slightly absent-minded father; boys to be friends with (their neighbors across the street — though I admit that I did miss Jeffrey); the scrapes the girls get themselves in to; and the wonderful, fun, evocative language. And there are new things to love: an amazing, smart, fun, interesting new next-door-neighbor with a very cute toddler whose one word is “Duck”; a scheme to keep their dad from dating, as his sister Claire seems determined to have him do; a neighborhood forest for exploring and hiding; and a little bit of learning and maturing on everyone’s part.

Other reasons to like the Penderwick family:

[Jane] hated finishing one of her favorite books, because she knew she’d have to wait at least a few months before she could read it again. It was a rule she’d imposed on herself after reading The Various twice in one week — a disaster, like eating three large slices of chocolate cake at one sitting.

He hung up the phone with a bang. “Here’s some advice, daughters. Try to avoid having younger sisters.”
“Too late for that, Daddy,” said Jane.

[Batty] must have done it well, because Hound nuzzled her joyfully, and then she pounced on hi, and they wrestled around the yard until they knocked the red wagon over and all the animals tumbled out. And then there was putting them back in, which was fun, and altogether, it was turning out to be an okay afternoon, even if Rosalind had scolded her for being noisy.

I have to agree that it’s a practically perfect book in every way.

(Just for the record: because this is a Cybils nominee, I’ve been asked to make sure y’all know this is my opinion only, and not that of the panel. Thank you.)

Othello

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I decided, since we own the BBC version of this, to attack this play differently than I read Shakespeare last year. I am happy to report that not only did I actually get it this time, I even actually enjoyed it (as much as one can enjoy a Shakespearean tragedy).

Thoughts:
On the movie: the costumes were horrible, and watching Anthony Hopkins in blackface was a bit odd and uncomfortable. That said, the acting was superb. Hopkins does crazy violent, jealous rages excellently.

Othello isn’t a very sympathetic tragic hero. Then again, I’m not sure tragic heroes are supposed to be sympathetic. His tragic “flaw”, if you can call it that, is that he wants to know too much and is willing to listen to (very lousy, superficial) anything to believe what he wants to believe.

Iago is a racist, and an ambitious man who will stop at nothing to get what he wants. He’s also a butt-kissing ass. No, I didn’t like him either. (Though Bob Hoskins performance made me laugh on occasion.)

Desdemona is a victim of the fact that men will always believe other men rather than listen to the sense women talk.

It has one of the more pathetic endings of any Shakespeare play. Save Romeo and Juliet. I think their end is even more pathetic.

I have no tolerance for pathetic characters. (If you haven’t noticed.)

I think there are some interesting things to say about race, stereotypes (both racial and about women and men), jealousy, ambition, curiosity, and jumping to conclusions.

At this rate — one a year (though maybe we can call it two a year, since we saw Much Ado About Nothing last week… and thought that the local company did a fine job with it. We had a very spirited discussion about Claudio and Hero afterward.) — it’ll take me 35 more years to get through all of Shakespeare’s plays…

2008 Challenge #3: Once Upon a Time II

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Aside from a little flub with The Other Boleyn Girl, I really enjoyed my list this year. I think that was a change from last year….

I read:
Swordspoint, by Ellen Kushner
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
Into the Wild, by Sarah Beth Durst
The Crystal Cave, The Hollow Hills, The Last Enchantment, by Mary Stewart
Battle of the Labyrinth, Rick Riordan

I can’t believe I managed 7 books for this challenge. But then, I love fantasy and all things fairie… so maybe I shouldn’t be surprised.

Thanks Carl! I look forward to doing this again next year!

Weekly Geek Photo Montage

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This week’s Weekly Geek:

Decide what to illustrate and start taking photos: Most of you are book bloggers, so you may want to post photos of your favorite reading spot, your TBR pile(s), your local book store, your favorite librarian, your child reading, etc. You may want to post several photos of a certain topic (like all nine of your kids reading!) or a mixed bag of photos that are unrelated except that they’re bookish. Or you may want to post just one photo, it’s up to you. If you have a different type of blog, post photos of whatever you think is suitable.

I figured since I talk about them all the time, I’d probably do best to show you some pictures of my kids (as well as one of our favorite things around town.)

Down by the Arkansas (they call it Ar-KANSAS here, not AR-kan-saw like everyone else in the country, much to my irritation) River they have a really great park. We love the playground, but the absolute best thing — especially on a sunny, hot, summer day — is the fountains. The girls wanted to get out the pool, but because the ground was soaked from all the rain, I said no. I didn’t want to pay to go to a public pool, and so I suggested the fountains. The girls loved the idea, and we spent an hour and a half running through the fountains and playing on the playground. We would have stayed longer… but M had to go to “work” at the library (she’s volunteering there for the summer), so we had to come home.


M in the center fountain…

A enjoying one of the side fountains.

C brought a friend along….

It took K a while to warm up to the idea of the fountains. At first all she wanted to do was run around…

But eventually, M talked her into getting a little wet.


Everyone had a blast. 🙂
For more Weekly Geek kids, check out Jackie’s very cute son. (Almost makes me wish I had a boy. But not quite.)

And… I’m Done (phew)

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First the final stats:

I read for 20 1/2 hours over two days, mostly on Saturday. I did have a goal to reach 20 hours, and I made that, and for that I’m glad.

I read five books — the mysterious edge of the heroic world, The Thief, The Queen of Attolia, The King of Attolia and The Fall of the Kings — for a total of 1,732 pages. Not as much as I thought I could get through. But then, my ideas are often bigger than my abilities.

Things I learned while doing this:

  • It’s hard to do this with young kids. Say under 5. Even with a very supportive husband.
  • While I love to read, it is not all I love to do. I love to cook, garden, play with my kids, watch TV on occasion, blog, and basically putter around the house. I missed doing all that while I was devoting myself to reading.
  • Additionally, I came to realize that if I’m going to read all day, it’s because the book has my attention and not because I want to rack up hours.
  • When I read, normally, I like to finish a book, put it down, think about it for a while, write a blog review (and think about that for a while), do something else for the afternoon/evening, and start a book fresh. I felt like by the time I got to the third and fourth and especially fifth books, I was muddle-headed, and not only was I not enjoying the books as much, but I couldn’t think of anything interesting to say about them.
  • I don’t do well on a lack of sleep. (Meaning less than 8 hours a night!)
  • I’m a slow reader, comparatively. I like to savor the words (funny, coming from someone who’s not known for her love of words in and of themselves) and savor the story. It’s hard to do that when you’re going for time and pages read. And I admit that I kind of felt bad that I wasn’t a faster reader.

Even though I’m not sure I actually enjoyed all my 48 hours, I’m glad I did this. At least I found out that it’s not something I’d want to do on any sort of regular basis. And that I need to wait a few years until my youngest girls are older. Things I didn’t know before. (Or if I did, wouldn’t admit to myself.)

I’ve been trying to come up with a witty ending, but I’m still muddled. I need a nap.

The Fall of the Kings

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I have to admit this up front: I was burned out when I read this book. Burned out on fantasy, burned out on reading so much in a row, burned out from lack of sleep (and activity). So, that may have affected what I thought of it.

Because I thought it was dull, boring, poorly written, with uninteresting characters and plot. It didn’t get truly interesting until the last 100 pages, and even then, I was dissatisfied with the ending.

Set 60 years after Swordspoint, The Fall of Kings deals with a noble and a scholar who are lovers, but also a scholar who comes to think he’s a wizard from the ancient ages and his lover is the new King of the Land. It has shadows of Arthurian legend, but done somewhat clumsily. I was bored with the history, I was bored with the myth (told you I tended to skip those parts…), I was bored with the machinations of the main characters.

I think what I really missed was the sword fighting. And the chess game of the first novel. I was dissatisfied with the ending, but at least I enjoyed the journey. That’s much better than loathing the journey and being mildly interested in the ending.

The King of Attolia

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M and I were talking about the Attolia series (or whatever the name of this trilogy is) to Hubby over lunch today, and it occurred to me that not only are they kind of difficult to explain, they actually end up sounding a lot lamer than they really are.

So, I got to thinking (after I finished the third book) why did I love these so much? It’s the writing: Turner is a superb storyteller, creating worlds and characters with as good a talent as Robin McKinley or Shannon Hale. But, I realized (especially after finishing the third book), that it was also because of Gen. He’s a wonderful hero — the true anti-hero, someone who is but doesn’t want to be — but he’s also the bad boy, the thief, the one who can’t be tamed. Which makes him infinitely alluring.

After being moody for all of the second book, Gen is back in almost as good of form as he was in The Thief. The only reason it’s not as good is because Gen’s, um, king and is required (for the most part) to act the role. Except the people of Attolia don’t want him there, and to be honest he doesn’t really want to be there either. Yet, he manages to rise to the occasion, with (of course) various intrigues and adventures along the way. And a myth story thrown in.

Reading these three books in quick succession made me aware of all the faults — that they’re essentially the same story three times, that Turner has some tried-and-true tricks to use. But I didn’t care. I was in love with Gen, with the world, with the story Turner was weaving.

Which is why I now want to go out and buy these three books. And it’s why — in spite of the fact that I think any reasonable person would say that this is a perfect trilogy and please leave it at that — I’m hoping that Turner doesn’t leave this world behind and will write a fourth book so she can wrap up some of the loose ends that she left hanging. Because I want to know what happens to them all.

And that’s a hallmark of a really good series. (Either that, or I’m just really tired. 🙂