Space Station Mir

Question(s): What do you think was the saddest character death or best/most satisfying character death (or both!) from a book? My Answer: I've had to contemplate a lot of character deaths recently as my class just finished the first book of the children's fantasy series Redwall . The author, Brian Jacques, passed away this year and in fitting tribute to him, we held a memorial service for the dead characters. Rats with magnificent names like Cheesethief (my favorite), Redtooth, Darkclaw, and Mangefur have all bitten the dust along with weasel Scragg and ferret Killconey. With that in mind, the deaths of all the adversaries in this book are particularly satisfying. Cheesethief is mistakenly shot with an arrow while posturing in the clothes of the Rat Chief, Cluny the Scourge. The death of Enemy Number One, Cluny himself, is a resounding example of poetic justice, as the bell which features in his dreams, is cut down by the mouse hero Matthias to crush him. Jacques writes the...

I'm trying this out for the first time, I've been meaning to join more book blogging meme groups. This past week, I received Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisa Peshl in the mail from Bookmooch. It's been on my wishlist for over a year now, and I'm excited to read it along with all my other new books. In other news, has anyone ever gone on a book-buying binge and then just been too overwhelmed at what to read next? That might be my next question for readers!

Last night, I watched the film adaptation of The Time Travelers' Wife . While the actors' appearance and the set of the film were exquisitely appropriate, particularly the meadow and Claire's studio, the film never really captured the emotional tension of the book. As my sister pointed out, the book's real pleasure came from Niffenegger's carefully plotted, non-chronological sequence of events, nearly all of which was missed in the film. The movie instead follows Henry's chronological life (as best it can be followed) with only a couple of flashbacks to Claire's childhood, missing some of the best scenes in the book. Overall, it's not that the movie didn't portray the most important plot points and character background, but mostly that it skipped over the fine details and especially the darker and less palatable ones, that make these characters who they are. For example (SPOILER ALERT), the movie avoids how Henry really convinces his doctor that ...

35. The Betrothed by Alessandro Manzoni Finally, I've finished The Betrothed , an epic nineteenth century Italian novel that in my version (pictured above) is 720 pages in length. Manzoni, evidently a devoted scholar of sixteenth century Milan, weaves his story into the history of that time and place, including politics, religion, famine, and plague. Renzo and Lucia are our betrothed couple, and their troubles beset them before their intended wedding day, when the local lord, Don Rodrigo, forbids the parish priest, the cowardly Don Abbondio, to perform their marriage. Renzo and Lucia, along with Lucia's mother Agnese, are poor country folk in Pescarenico, a small town in Lecco, a territory belonging to Milan. Renzo tries to achieve justice as the more powerful townsfolk turn a blind eye. Don Rodrigo prepares to kidnap Lucia. The plot is thwarted, but the lovers must go separately into exile. We begin to meet a wide cast of characters, specifically do-gooders and not-so-go...

Question: Do you reread a lot? Why (not)? Name a book you have reread many times. My Answer: Yes. I reread all the time. There are many, many books that I have read more times than I can count. Lately, I've been on a roll with reading new books instead of rereading, and I have so many new books I want to read that that looks far more tempting to me right now. However, the truth of the matter is that I get far more out of a book I read more than once. If I liked it, chances are good I will be reading that book again. If I don't reread a book, it usually means I didn't like it and considered it unworthy of my time. There are books that I initially couldn't get through that I went back and read happily, notably Stephen Hawking's The Theory of Everything , Madeleine L'Engle's A Circle of Quiet , and even Tolkien's The Hobbit. I think the book that I have read the most is probably A Tangled Web by L.M. Montgomery. There is something about this book th...

I've told myself over and over: no buying new books for myself. Library only, at least until I get a full-time job. Then I deposited my summer paycheck. And my mom decided to use the bathroom in the bookstore. And it was all over. The Damage: And the coup de grace: American Wife I've wanted to read for a long time and snagged at a bargain price. Reading Women I read about at Litlove's blog . It sounded like the type of book that would be a good lead-in to feminist reading for me and it wasn't at the library. I had a strong emotional connection to the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series, so I couldn't miss this new book about the Sisterhood all grown up, even though I'm not sure how I'll feel about it. And I read Game of Thrones and have been watching the HBO TV series, the 4-book set will be a nice birthday treat. I recently joined Amazon Associates, so the nice links will take you straight to Amazon if you want to read more about th...

I love narrators in nineteenth century novels. From Northanger Abbey to Belinda , Anna Karenina to The Idiot , the narrator is often my favorite character. I want my stories put in perspective, commented on, mocked. I want my characters brought down to size when they're being melodramatic or not quite honest with themselves. I want to know the story behind the story that they would never admit from a third-person perspective with totally different values. All of this is why I was enchanted with Kenilworth and why I'm now falling head over heels for Alexander Manzoni's The Betrothed. Like Scott's epic, The Betrothed is a nineteenth century novel with a sixteenth century setting. I'm a bit familiar with the sixteenth century Italians, namely Machiavelli and Castiglione, both of whom get mentions in this book, but I really haven't dabbled much in Italian literature. It's amazing to see how similar the style was to the nineteenth century British writers. O...

Question: What author do you own the most books by and why? My Answer: If I'm counting physical books, I own more Jane Austen books than any other author, but that's counting multiple copies of the same book, as detailed in a former book meme question. Otherwise, it's a close call between C.S. Lewis and L.M. Montgomery, I own 10 of Montgomery's books and 11 of Lewis'. It's not surprising because these are two of my favorite authors and also because they both wrote seven-book series that I love and own in full: The Anne of Green Gables series and the Chronicles of Narnia. I also own Lewis' Space Trilogy books, which are actually much more impressive than the Narnia books, and a book of his essays and stories, Of Other Worlds . In addition to the Anne books, I own the first Emily book, a few standalone novels, and a short story collection of Montgomery's. It's perhaps interesting to note that for both these novelists, while I was initially attract...

Happy Fourth of July! The Fourth has always been one of my favorite holidays, I have fond camp memories of painting our fingernails red, white, and blue and watching the fireworks. I'm not as patriotic as I used to be, but I'm still very glad that the Declaration of Independence was signed in the American colonies 235 years ago. Hope you enjoy the fireworks tonight if you're in the US! Question(s): What are your book borrowing habits? Do you use the library? Do you prefer to try before you buy? What about lending your books to friends? Are you a good borrower, do you remember to return books? My book borrowing habits are perhaps a bit inconsistent. I've used the library fairly often, usually in bursts and spurts, for the past four years. Before that, most of my books were bought and many of them were gifts or came from gift cards. When I was much younger, my mom did used to take me to the library more often, so I was borrowing regularly. To be honest, I'd prefer...