Last week, I finished reading:

Happy Birthday or Whatever by Annie Choi (Review)

I started reading:

Cherry Cheesecake Murder by Joanne Fluke

I’m still reading:

An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon

Eventually, I will return to:

Cecilia by Frances Burney

I want to read:

Jane Austen’s Letters

Annie Choi’s Happy Birthday or Whatever: Track Suits, Kim Chee, and other Family Disasters is an absolutely delightful memoir about the family, identity, and the pressure to live up to expectations.

A Korean-American born and raised in LA, Annie Choi explores the complicated relationship between mothers and daughters and the multicultural experience.

It’s funny, fast-paced, and very sweet.

—

I don’t read many memoirs, but this one caught my attention and I couldn’t wait to read it. I wasn’t disappointed. Annie’s story struck a chord, recalling my own experiences with multiculturalism, language, and my own lovingly disfunctional relationship with my mother and family.

Finished reading Anne Brontë’s The Tenant of Wildfell Hall at long last. I picked this one up while browsing the shelves at the library and decided to give it a try. Other than Jane Eyre, I’d never read any of the Brontës (though Wuthering Heights has been on the TBR pile for a while).

Tenant is part epistolary novel, part journal, part mystery, and part romance.

Set in the early 19th century English countryside, you have all the gossip and quarrels that are associated with small town life. Told in three parts, the story tells of the mysterious young woman, Mrs. Helen Graham, who moves into the long tenantless Wildfell Hall. A widow with a young son, she causes a stir when she refuses to mingle with the locals or take their advice as to the care and keeping of her child.

The novel is narrated by the tenacious Gilbert Markham, who wishes to relate to his brother-in-law the events surrounding the arrival of Helen Graham and his part in what followed; presenting evidence from the lady’s diary and letters to account for his story.

Slowly, a tale of heart-break, betrayal, and dejection unfolds as the trials of Mrs. Graham’s former life become known.

—

It took me a while to get into this novel, but I’m glad I finished it because the story really builds when you reach Volume 2. Helen’s diary brings her character forth in a way that reveals the nuances of her personality and the difficulties that led to the seemingly bitter and desolate attitude that Mr. Markham so resents when they first meet.

The novel deals with the position of married women in society and the liberties allowed to their husbands. The double standards of 19th century conduct are illustrated in a very revealing manner as Helen’s plight and ultimate flight from a life made unbearable by a callous, hateful, and drunken husband comes to light.

While not as passionate as Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre, there are similarities between the two. The narrative style is reminiscent of Jane, you almost hear Mr. Markham say “Reader, I married her” when he finishes his letter, and Arthur Huntingdon’s life of dissipation could probably reflect the kind of life that Mr. Rochester led before he found reason to regret it.

Here’s what I’m reading:

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë (20 pages to go!)

An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon

Last week, I finished reading:

Rilla of Ingleside by L.M. Montgomery

The Door in the Hedge by Robin McKinley

I want to start reading:

Happy Birthday or Whatever by Annie Choi

I need to get back to reading:

Cecilia by Frances Burney

I did it! After putting it off for years, I finally finished all the Anne books. I have to admit, the books about Anne’s children just do not interest me as much as the books about Anne herself, but I really wanted to get through the whole series. A couple of weeks ago, I sat down and started reading Rilla of Ingleside, and while it wasn’t the most interesting volume in the series, it was alright.

Unlike Anne, Rilla has no ambition to speak of and does not feel ashamed to admit it. She just wants to be pretty and have fun. A little vain and a little proud, Rilla is nonetheless a very loyal sister and friend. At 15, Rilla has nothing on her mind but enjoying herself at her first dance, and that pesky war is not going to ruin her evening.

But when the war truly breaks out and Canada is called upon to send her troops, Rilla finds that there’s more to life than worrying about your lisp when a handsome boy takes you for a moonlit walk.

Like Anne, Rilla is a full of heart and makes the best of any situation. When her brothers leave for Europe to fight, Rilla is left to wait and comfort her mother, but she does not do so with her hands crossed. Though she wants nothing more than to be the wife of Kenneth Ford when he returns from the battlefront, Rilla grows and matures into a capable young woman.

Like many of L.M. Montgomery’s stories, the book is a bit preachy in parts, but the anxiety and terror brought on by the war serves to balance the many references to the divine. Rilla’s story is interesting as an account of the lives of women left at home during WWI. She experiences loss and grief but stands firm to support those she loves, even when the other girls call her cold.

Overall, I liked the book, but I could have done without some of the passages about the Glen St. Mary crowd.

—

After I finished Rilla, I told myself that I would also finish Robin McKinley’s The Door in the Hedge.

I started this four story collection of fairy tale retellings a few months ago, but didn’t get around to reading the final story until yesterday.

McKinley’s second published book, the collection includes “The Stolen Princess,” “The Princess and the Frog,” “The Hunting of the Hind,” and “The Twelve Dancing Princesses”. The characters in the stories are often unnamed, identified by their descriptions and titles and representing the sort of archetypal personalities often featured in traditional fairy tales.

Of the four stories, I enjoyed “The Hunting of the Hind” most of all, but though I like fairy tales, I prefer McKinley’s novels. The stories almost feel incomplete, which might explain why McKinley often notes that her stories have a tendency to turn into full-length novels when she starts to work on a short story collection. The descriptions are lush and airy, almost dreamlike, but I prefer a bit more depth.

That said, I still want to check out Water, and McKinley’s latest addition to the elementals story series, Fire.

Enter to win a copy of Hush. Hush and Fallen at The Story Siren’s blog!

Contest: Because Angels are HOT.

Scott Westerfeld came to Books & Books on Sunday afternoon to promote the first book in his new steampunk trilogy, Leviathan.

I have yet to read the Uglies series, though it has been on my “I will get around to it one day” list for a while, but after reading a blurb for Leviathan and seeing the wonderful book trailer, I knew I wanted to get to this one soon.

When I learned that Westerfeld was going to be making an appearance, I bought a copy and marked it down on my calendar.

The event was one of the most interesting ones I have attended, and they’ve had some interesting YA events. Mr. Westerfeld of the steampunk masterpiece presented a highly entertaining lecture on the history of illustrations in books and the idea of emergent technologies at the turn of the century… and deadly dart pooping birds. He was funny and informative and the images, many of which will be published in the companion guide to the series, were amazing.

Here are some pictures from the event (click to enlarge):

]]> http://things-she-read.org/2009/10/26/what-a-steampunk/feed/ 2 emperatrix http://things-she-read.org/2009/10/26/its-monday-what-are-you-reading/ http://things-she-read.org/2009/10/26/its-monday-what-are-you-reading/#comments Mon, 26 Oct 2009 21:18:19 +0000 Gricel http://thingssheread.wordpress.com/?p=237 ]]>

My first Monday reading post how exciting!

I’m reading:

Rilla of Ingleside by L.M. Montgomery

The Tenant of  Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë

An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon

I really want to finish Rilla by the end of this week. Tenant is my book to read at work, as Echo is too heavy to carry around with all my other stuff, so those two will take longer to get through.

I want to start reading:

Happy Birthday or Whatever by Annie Choi

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

A Scholar of Magics by Caroline Stevermer

Scott Westerfield is going to be reading from Leviathan at Books & Books this Sunday at 6 pm. I so want to go! I’ve never read Westerfield’s novels, but this book has really sparked my interest. Steampunk and a girl a disguised as a boy, this is definitely a book to add to my “to read” list.

If I get to go to the event, I’ll post pictures and such .

It’s always hard for me to answer when someone asks, “So, what’s your favorite book?” It’s never a matter of not having a favorite, the thing is that I have too many. The idea that someone can have a single favorite book seems sad to me–there are so many wonderful books to experience, how can you possible have just the one favorite? Maybe I’m just a naive bibliophile, but I can’t pick one. I may answer Pride and Prejudice or Persuasion, I may just say that I love Harry Potter, but usually I just answer to get people to stop asking.

Last weekend, my b-chan asked me what my favorite book is and I answered honestly: I don’t have one. But you love to read, he replied. How can you not have one? It’s precisely because I love to read that I don’t, because there are too many to choose from.

Then he asked, Is there a book that you read over and over again?

I suppose this is a better way of asking me what my favorites are; there are many books that I re-read periodically, and these are usually the ones that I cite as favorites when asked. I love Robin McKinley’s Beauty. I’ve read it several times. Part of my graduate thesis was on Beauty, and even after reading it over five times during a six month span, and filling a notebook with notes on every little detail relating to Beauty’s heroism, I still enjoy reading this book.

That said, if it really comes down to it, these are the books that I can call my “Favorites,” if only because I never tire of them.

• The Austens: Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion
• Beauty by Robin McKinley
• Rose Daughter by Robin McKinley
• I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
• The China Garden by Liz Berry
• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
• the Anne of Green Gables books by Lucy Maud Montgomery
• Bridget Jones’s Diary and Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason by Helen Fielding- always make me laugh
• Outlander by Diana Gabaldon (I love the series, but I prefer to re-read the first book)
• The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot (I’ve been meaning to re-read this one again, it’s been a while)
• the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling