odds and ends

So, I just got back into the country yesterday. Hubby and I went with my dad to Israel for 10 amazing days. It was my first time to Israel, and my first time anywhere in the Middle East. Awesome! I'm in a bit of a jet-lagged, post-vacation fog at the moment, but eventually I'll settle back into a routine. I'm in the middle of a book right now (Settlers of Catan...yes, it's inspired by the board game) and thinking of seeking out some good Middle Eastern literature for my next read. Also, anyone knowledgeable about oud music and musicians? I heard some while I was there and loved it. 

In the meantime, here's a list:

Rugged mountains

Banana trees, date palms, olive groves

Floating in the Dead Sea

History come to life

Lots of people in small spaces

Stone

Wading in the Jordan River and Sea of Galilea

Beach day in Tel Aviv

Scarves

Pottery

Hebrew

Arabic

Shawarma

Falafal

Pilgrims

Walking and people watching

Bazaar

Gardens

Churches

Shevet Achim

Community

Reading Girl of Fire and Thorns

The Girl of Fire and Thorns, by Rae Carson is on the surface a fantasy story about a princess who becomes a hero. At it's core, it's a book about a teenage girl with a seemingly perfect older sister, low self-esteem, and a destiny/calling she can't quite wrap her head around. It's about a girl who learns to rise to the occasion, to believe in herself, and learns about frienship, family, and love.

I enjoyed a lot of things about this book. For one thing, I enjoyed the Spanish/Latin-inspired world. It's always nice to see a fantasy world that doesn't look exactly like Western Europe in the Middle Ages (not that I don't love those too). A very Catholic-inspired religion factors heavily into the story -- Elisa is the bearer of a godstone, a jewel magically (divinely?) placed in her naval at her christening (so...a supernatural belly-button ring?) which sets her apart as being chosen by God for some great purpose. It's interesting to see Elisa's relationship with this destiny -- she is very devout, but still has a lot of doubts and questions. She's been kept in the dark about a lot of things most of her life, despite years of study, so it's neat to see her process things when she makes new discoveries and revelations.

And speaking of Elisa...love her! She's got the self-pity thing going for a while, but it's great to see her overcome that. She really grows in a very realistic and organic way throughout the book. One other interesting aspect to the story, is that Elisa is very overweight through a big chunk of the book. Due to some external circumstances (a forced trek through the dessert and some other spoilery things I won't mention), she does end up losing some weight. Some reviewers have expressed disspointment that Elisa doesn't gain confidence until she loses some weight...but I think that her losing weight is only a small part of the journey Elisa makes. She doesn't even notice for quite a while how much different she looks physically. I think it's all the circumstances surrounding her weight loss that really cause her to change her view of herself. It is interesting though, to see her realize the power that comes with a more socially-acceptable body. Overall, I like the inclusion of this character aspect, and think Carson handled it well.

There wasn't really anything I disliked about the book -- some of the secondary characters were more three-dimensional than others, but all were well-drawn and real. I especially loved the two different priests that Elisa befriends and talks to -- each different and unique. While they each helped Elisa figure things out that further her journey (and the plot), they managed to be much more than just expositionary plot-devises. The romance didn't really make me swoon -- but I found it believable, and really to me this book was less about romance and more about Elisa's personal journey and that whole there's-a-nation-with-sorcerers-coming-to-slaughter-us thing. So kudos to Carson for using a light touch. It should also be noted that Carson is not afraid to kill off a character -- the danger is not imaginary, readers. The pace of the book was also really spot on -- the action moved along at a steady pace but never felt rushed. There was plenty of time for the introspection needed for me to really buy Elisa's growth, but it fit seamlessly into the plot.

Bottom line: an excellent coming-of-age book with magic, princesses, and fantasy kingdoms.

On the nature of appeal

A large part of my job is helping readers find their next book to read ("readers' advisory" in the jargon). My patrons and I talk about authors and books they like and don't like, and based on those conversations I'll try and pick out some books that they'll enjoy reading the next time around. There are lots of great tools out there for this (from Readers' Advisory databases to review web sites and book blogs), and I've learned (and am still learning) to ask certain questions when a person tells me about a book they did or didn't like, and to hone in on certain appeal factors when they do.

Immersed as I am in this discourse on books and stories (which, on a side note, is basically my favorite part of my job hands down), I am frequently struck by the wide variety of tastes among readers, and the difficulty sometimes in really honing in on what it is that a person finds appealing and enjoyable about a certain book. Sometimes you have to learn to read between the lines -- to listen to what a person means, not just the words they say. For example, I heard two of my patrons discussing 50 Shades of Gray, by E.L. James. Ms. B asked Ms. A if she'd enjoyed the book. "Yes, I'm really enjoying it," Ms. A said. "It's very well-written." My brain froze for a moment. Really? I thought. How interesting! Because, while I haven't read the book myself, everyone else I've talked to and every review I've read pretty much says the same thing: not well-written AT ALL (from a purely objective perspective, regardless of if that type of story is appealing). So in this case, I'm reading between the lines. Other reviews offer a more obviously objective and critical approach: this book is poorly written because of X, Y & Z factors. But Ms. A's review offered a more subjective, appeal-oriented approach: she enjoyed this book and enjoyed the writing style. TO HER, it was well-written because she enjoyed it.

Book appeal is so nebulous...unfixed and changing. I had a patron tell me once that as a retired English teacher she spent a lot of years reading books that made her think...and now she was ready to read some books that required no thinking at all! Even her personal appeal factors had adapted (although I'm pretty sure that because of her background, that person would particularly enjoy light, fun, easy-reading...but still objectively well-written books). Appeal can change from day to day, week to week, and year to year. Appeal is affected by your background, education, personality, mood, and current life situation. I did a paper once on the original appeal of Ian Fleming's James Bond books and the enduring appeal of the James Bond character today. James Bond's stories and adventures were so drastically different from the day-to-day lives of the post-war English men and women. But see...that was part of the appeal, to believe, even for a moment, that there was "life" beyond rations and rubble. My friends and I discussed this just the other day in light of the ever-changing interpretations of James Bond. Everyone's got their favorite...Daniel Craig, for example, exemplifies our more modern desire for a rough-around-the-edges-bad-ass-masculine hero.

When picking a "next read" for someone else or even for yourself, there are a lot of factors that inform that choice, either consciously or unconsciously. And sometimes it's as much about what a person doesn't say, as it is about what they do.

Reading A Memory of Light

So, this isn't really anything close to a review, and promises to be even more rambly than most of my book discussions. Forewarned is forearmed and all that.

I finished a Memory of Light by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson, the final volume in the mega and epic Wheel of Time series. I spoke a bit about the series a couple of weeks ago, so I'm not going to try and summarize much. Suffice it to say, this last book is the final showdown...tyng up loose ends, making some final plays, and the gathering together of people and nations and armies to fight The Dark One and his followers. 

Wow.

Yeah, that about sums it up: pretty freaking fantastic. Here are some thoughts in list form (to keep them semi-coherent): 

1. So many times I've yelled at a character and questioned their choices and wanted to smack them repeatedly. Many, many characters in fact. But you know what...they've grown and learned and you really see that in this book. And it's awesome. 

2. The important loose ends get tied up, but with a surprising amount of open-endedness as well. I mean, part of me wants a "flash-foward twenty-years" type epilogue, but the other part of me firmly believes the ending was just right. I saw enough to get a vision of what could be...and to feel that these characters I'm so fond of still have life after the book is closed.

3. Brandon Sanderson makes me want to read battle scenes. That is no small feat.

4. One of the things I love about this series is the overarching theme of Hope, and you really see that in this book.

5. This book was quite an emotional roller coaster I spent a lot of time stressed out, crying, or fist pumping. 

6. Lots of twists and surprises. Lots of moments with me going "what?! what?! what?!"

Slightly Spoilery Section:

7. Ogiers!!!

8. Oh Egwene...you became such an awesome amazing leader. And the true definition of a badass. I will miss you. (although...I won't miss Gawyn, sorry. Not that I wanted anything to happen to him! But seriously...that guy is so. dense.)

9. Lan!!!!! Seriously, this guy...

10. Loved that Mat and Rand finally got to see each other. Loved their interaction

11. Talmanes! Who knew you were so cool. (and I seriously enjoyed the firing cannons out of a cave with no entrance. Genius!

12. Oh Mat....you're the best. Seriously. You really proved (once again) in this book that at your core you care about people and about doing the right thing. Like Rand said -- you're a hero who will deny it to his last breath. I so much loved that memory Egwene had of you jumping in to save that child's life when you were a kid. And I hope you can somehow manage to completely undermine the crazy Seanchan society (especially that whole thing with enslaving women who can channel).

13. Min....finally, you grew on me. 

14. Moirane, I wish we'd gotten a little more time with you, but I'm so glad you were around. One of my first fist pumps was when you showed up at the fastly deteriorating meeting and completely schooled everyone. You're my hero!

15. Olver! 

16. Loved the father-son interaction.

So, those are some of my thoughts at this point. Well done, Robert Jordan and well done Brandon Sanderson. I feel I will be talking about this book to anyone I can in the next few weeks.  

Reading...Days of Blood and Starlight

Christmas was good for me this year book-wise, and the first gift I picked up to read during the first days of January was Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor, the sequel to Daughter of Smoke and Bone. I LOVE these books. Immediately upon reading Daughter of Smoke and Bone, I passed it on to all my reader friends. Laini Taylor's writing is gorgeous and evocative. She has created a unique mythology, layered characters, and a story that is both beautiful and heartbreaking.

I won't say too much about Days of Blood and Starlight so as not to spoil it, but it's a seamless sequel. I'm not going to lie: there's not a lot of happiness or "good" in this second book -- but my husband is of the firm opinion that the job of the middle part of a trilogy is to present the case that all hope is lost (his classic example - Empire Strikes Back). The characters and plot continued to move forward, and we got to delve more into the world of the Seraphim and Chimaera. Karou, especially, went through a difficult transition in this book. At the end of the first book, she's faced with an epic betrayal by someone she loved fiercely and passionately. She has to come to grips with a whole bunch of conflicting emotions: grief and anger and the rememberance of love and hope all wrapped up in a package of guilt. I particularly enjoyed the character development of more of the secondary characters: Akiva's brother and sister, as well as some of the Chimaera. This book really explores the ideas of redemption, vengeance, atonement, consequences and how life isn't always black and white, especially in war. Like , Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Days of Blood and Starlight is a slow build to a pretty climactic ending and I can't wait to see how book 3 plays out.

Bottom line: why haven't you read these books?

In the Middle of The End

I'm currently in the middle of reading A Memory Of Light, by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson. In case you're not a reader of fantasy-fiction, this is the 14th and final installment in the epic fantasy series A Wheel of Time. It's a pretty comon set-up: meet Rand Al'Thor and his friends -- Mat, Perrin, Egwene, Nyneave. They all live in a small village in the Two Rivers, figuring they'll live their lives out like others in their village. Enter an attach by monsters, a mysterious woman and her guard, and an ancient prophecy. One person destined to fight The Dark One in The Last Battle and save the world, and the others destined to play a pretty big role in this journey as well. There's intrigue and politics and war and evil and good. Along with these teenages who've never left Emond's Field, we get to discover a huge, amazing world with unique and varied cultures and an intricate history. The story explodes (as you might expect giving that there are 14 volumes clocking at at around 900 or more pages each), and man is it a fun journey.

Like I said, I'm still working my way through this last volume -- torn between devouring it and savoring it, like the last piece of Nicole's chocolate-caramel pie. Jordan published The Eye of the World in 1990. Before publishing the 12th book, Jordan passed away after suffering from a rare disease. But he left behind notes and outlines and the final chapter of the final book, along with instructions for his wife and editor to pick someone to finish the series. Enter accomplished-in-his-own-right fantasy author Brandon Sanderson.

My husband began reading these books in junior high (early 90s), so by the time we'd met he had a pretty established relationship with the series. Although I've been an avid reader since grade school, I'd never really read fantasy. Over one summer when I was between cities and jobs and had a lot of time on my hands, my husband talked me into trying out The Eye of the World, and I was hooked. The series has its flaws: the dynamic between men and women is pretty stereotypical, and after a while the descriptions and turns of phrase get repetative (how many times can Nyneave tug at her braid, am I right?). There's one story line that starts about book 11 that really could have been slashed by at least half, and at one point I thought -- you're introducing a whole new character and story NOW? (it seems to me at one point that Jordan was writing like he could have just happily spent forever exploring the world he'd created).

But the thing is...these books sucked me it. I believe in this world -- from the tough-as-nails Shienaren to the island dwelling Sea Folk and everyoen in between. It's practically tangible. And I believe in the characters. Sometimes I get so. frustrated. But would I get that frustrated if I weren't completely invested in them? For every storyline or point or character trait that's eye-rollingly stereotypical or as blunt as Perrin's blacksmith's hammer, there's a plot twist or characterisation that's nuanced and just. so. perfect.

The Wheel of Time series reminds me that the best books aren't necessarily the most perfect books, but the ones you can develop a relationship with. That's why your best books aren't necessarily my best books, and vice versa. But for me, when it comes to epic fantasy, The Wheel of Time is one of my first loves.

Reading...When in Doubt Add Butter

I'm not gonna lie: there was no way after reading the title of this book that I wasn't going to read it. And I'm glad I did! It was an enjoyable, light read about a serial dater -- a funny, confident woman who makes her living as a personal chef -- who finds love unexpectedly. Although this is a classic romantic story -- told very well, with many swoony sighs -- it's almost more about Gemma herself than it is about Gemma finding love, and I liked that about it (In that way, I guess the book might better fit into the "chick lit" category). Gemma is passionate about food, and cooks for a wide variety of clients. Some are her friends -- or eventually become friends -- and some are more like enemies. And one may or may not be Russian mafia. Getting to know Gemma and her clients and watching those relationships develop was as much fun as seeing her find her way to romance.

Bottom line: a light, enjoyable read.