Completed: The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More by Roald Dahl

Hm. There are 7 stories in this book, and I've started to really love short stories - I'll be looking for more of them to read. Here are the 7, from the best read to the worst one, in my opinion:

The Mildenhall Treasure

• The second and last non-fiction Dahl ever wrote. As an archaeologist, it's wonderful!

A Piece of Cake, and Lucky Break

• The first piece of non-fiction Dahl ever wrote, and the context thereof. And it is beautiful - much like Mowat in how poignantly it speaks to the human aspect of war. I learned a lot about Dahl reading this story, and its context.

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar

• This is one of the cleverest short stories I've ever read. You just want to believe it is true. Wonderful indeed!

The Hitchhiker, The Boy Who Talked with Animals

• These two were interesting. Snapshots, almost, and you wonder what inspired Dahl to write them, as they seem so ordinary, and yet when you think through it they're certainly worth their stories unto themselves.

The Swan

• Just don't even read this story. I was disturbed after reading it, and I get very cringe-y thinking about it. Good on Dahl for being able to create so realistically such a hideous picture for his readers, but I just can't understand how this would be a young adult story, and what would have inspired its creation. 

Title: The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More

Author: Roald Dahl

Published: 1945 (originally) - 1998 (this version)

Pages: 225

Total Books Blogged: 56

Total Pages: 15,767

Damn - 5 months

Between class, summer vacation/travel, class again, class a third time, getting back to school, and just the fact that I have been reading quite a bit! No real excuses, but there you have it. It hasn't been a priority.

I tried a challenge once - for a few days, rather than ever saying 'I don't have the time', replace those words with 'it just isn't a priority for me'. It re-frames all of your actions as choices, and what you prioritize becomes much clearer. So - my blog has not been a priority, and this is a super-small catchup post. I will do all of the books since The Professor and the Madman, with a few sentences about each, because I don't have the energy to stress over writing each book up. So here we go:

Title: The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Author: Robert Louis Stevenson
Published: 1886 (originally)
Pages: 64

The copy I read definitely had more pages than this, but it is indeed a short, heartbreaking story. It's a story we're all familiar with, but that I actually had all wrong. It is not a horror/scary story, in my opinion - it is a tragedy. Such an incredible read, and something that for sure I wasn't expecting. Recommend.

Title: A Christmas Carol and Other Stories
Author: Charles Dickens
Published: 1843 (originally)
Pages: 368

Actually my first Dickens! I feel bad admitting that, but am glad I finally tackled some. The Chimes was probably my favorite story in here, as it epitomizes the 19th century industrialization and the paternalistic attitude of the rich at the time - the historical accuracy is painful to read.

Title: James and the Giant Peach
Author: Roald Dahl
Published: 1961 (originally)
Pages: 146

Though of course a fond childhood classic movie, James and the Giant Peach is not my favorite Roald Dahl book. I enjoyed it, but I've enjoyed others more. Read this out loud to the boys at bedtime - there's several more selections here that fell into that category :)

Title: History of the Canadian Peoples vol 2: 1867-Present
Author: Margaret Conrad, Alvin Finkel
Published: 2009
Pages: 456

Relatively dry first-year Canadian history textbook for class. Nuff said.

Title: Hyperbole and a Half
Author: Allie Brosh
Published: 2013
Pages: 369

If you haven't read Brosh's original blog upon which this book is based (and is by the same name), read it. Read both. Just read it all - it's hilarious, raw, honest, emotional and laugh-out-loud funny.

Title: The Enormous Egg
Author: Oliver Butterworth
Published: 1958 (originally)
Pages: 188

I think I pulled this from a Goodreads young-boys reading list- this too was a bedtime story. It is a totally fun tale of a boy whose chicken lays a dinosaur egg, and hatches out a dinosaur. In a more recent book, hilarity would ensue. In this one, it's a very practical, emotional response in trying to do what's best for the dinosaur, which was a very 50s, refreshing perspective. However, a farm family in the 50s also has a lot of gender roles, so I worked through that with the kids too...!

Title: A Little Princess
Author: Frances Hodgson Burnett
Published: 1902 (originally)
Pages: 242

Read this version - the drawings and typeface were so pretty, it helped to make the story! I loved loved loved this movie when I was a kid. I am normally good with knowing which movies come from books, but in this case I did not know this was a book until relatively recently. I read much of this book while drinking Starbucks in Plantation, Florida, waiting for my bestie to get out of dental assistant school and getting geared up for her wedding. The book is plotted somewhat differently than the movie, and well worth a read. With a latte. In a coffee shop. It's the right book for that.

Title: Late Victorian Holocausts: El Nino Famines and the Making of the Third World
Author: Mike Davis
Published: 2000
Pages: 464

This book was a total slog - the first third was totally heartbreaking, the second third just so incredibly dense in scientific information. I think I spend about three months reading this book. I understand now why la nina/el nino are so difficult to predict, and I also understand so much more about how 20th century India came to be, and just how callous the British Empire could be regarding non-white human life. This book is one of the most valuable historical analyses I have ever read. A total toughie but absolutely worth it.

Title: Superfudge
Author: Judy Blume
Published: 1980
Pages: 182

Fun story: I was pen pals with Judy Blume in middle school for a year or so. One of our projects in Grade 6 was to write to an author. I chose her, and lo and behold, she wrote back! We exchanged a few letters. I'm sure I'm the one who let it fall off. But either way - one of the coolest school projects ever.

This is a book that I actually heard (and read over J's shoulder). He read it out loud at bedtime, a bit each day. I think he relates to free-spirit Fudge. I hear it all in his voice when I think about it :)

Title: E. Aster Bunnymund and the Warrior Eggs at the Earth's Core
Author: William Joyce
Published: 2012
Pages: 251

This is our second Joyce book - we also read Nicholas St. North and the Battle of the Nightmare King. We loved that one (both the physical book and the story), so we got another one, and this one was just as much fun. This was another read-aloud-at-bedtime book. They are whimsical, young and fun, but with plenty of story to engage you. Read him, it'll make you feel young.

Title: George's Marvellous Medicine
Author: Roald Dahl
Published: 1981
Pages: 120

Yet another bedtime book! G is almost 12, and yet we do stories every night still. I'll be sad to ever give it up. George's is much more a favorite Dahl book :)

Title: And No Birds Sang
Author: Farley Mowat
Published: 1979 (originally)
Pages: 245

Though it was a shorter book, this is one of the most impactful books I have ever read, bar none. Mowat captures, raw and unpolished, the havoc, fear, anger, and desperation of an average soldier during WWII. The numbers of that conflict are so overwhelming, it's hard to remember each person was just that - a person, with emotions, with family. Nothing has ever provided such a crucial human element to the conflict as Mowat did for me. Read this damn book.

Title: A Dog Year: 12 Months, Four Dogs, and Me
Author: Jon Katz
Published: 2002
Pages: 212

Uhm. Hm. The dogs were beautiful, their stories were worth the read. But similar to A. J. Jacobs, I don't totally love this author. He's a bit unapologetic for being the way he is, and the way he is doesn't sound like company I would want to keep. For this reason, I won't be reading more by him (same as Jacobs). But this book was nice. My boss owns a border collie, and she LOVED this book (and so did her Mom). So to each their own!

Title: Anne of Green Gables
Author: L. M. Montgomery
Published: 1908 (originally)
Pages: 320*

*This is the first book I read via an app called Serial Reader, so the page count is from a print copy.

I am Canadian, a girl, and for 5 years was very good friends with someone who loved Montgomery almost as an idol. So how, you might ask, did I avoid reading the Anne books? The answer is - I don't know how I hadn't yet read any of them. So, I started! Anne is positively charming, Marilla's heart is so large, and Matthew is just charming. I'll read the others too, once I get there.

Title: Three Cups of Tea
Author: Greg Mortenson, David Oliver Relin
Published: 2006
Pages: 349

A beautiful book. Unfortunately it's a crock. But I'm all for education of women all over the world so... someone should keep doing the work this book claims to be doing? Sigh.

Title: The Art of Racing in the Rain
Author: Garth Stein
Published: 2006
Pages: 321

Just read this book. It is the only book that has ever moved me to sobbing. No, not a glistening tear - full-blown sobbing. But goodness, SUCH a beautiful story, so well-written. I don't like car racing, couldn't care less - but still couldn't tear myself away from Enzo. Just read it, promise?

--

That's 16 books! I'm pretty proud of myself. There's a few others on the list, some comic books - maybe I'll add those at some point. But I've been reading a lot, and that's what counts!

Total Books Blogged, including all the ones in this post (OMG so many books): 55
Total Pages: 15542 (That's more than 4000 new pages!)

Of all the ones in this post, which one should you read the most?: The Art of Racing in the Rain. Oh just read it.

Completed: The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams

Last year, I read several books that were ones I felt I should have read in childhood that I never did (for example, Tuck Everlasting). This is another one that I feel everyone read when they were a kid - rounding out their bunny lit with all of the Peter Cottontail books! I didn't realize it was only from 1987 - I would have guessed decades older, in a golden-books kind of way.

But I never did read this one, til I found it for free on my iBooks app (whatever it's called - the one where you can have books on your phone). Things like Kindls are a topic for another post (I hate them), but having a quick bit to read on your phone can be very nice. The Velveteen Rabbit was my phone book.

Oh, to be young and not have this book attack my heart in such a forlorn way. To feel all too Real while reading all about a velveteen rabbit's journey to Real-ness. If it wasn't a part of your childhood, make it part of your adulthood - it's free, and it's available on your phone.

Title: The Velveteen Rabbit
Author: Margery Williams
Published: 1987
Pages: 40

Total Books Blogged: 38
Total Pages: 10,957

Completed (awhile ago): The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

Jekyll and Hyde is one of those things you hear about when you're a kid. Its names are used as characterizations of personality, as a reference for people having split personality-style attitudes. But it's also a book. A book written in fun, older English. Not a long read, and perfect for around Halloween time - which is when I did read it. 

How much has the modern 'Jekyll and Hyde' idea strayed from the original? Quite a bit, as far as how much the book differed from my childhood impression of its title characters. I was expecting a Halloween-appropriate, creepy monster. In the end, I was left feeling tremendous sadness for Jekyll and all that he suffered. It is not the classic battle between good and evil that a simplistic modern interpretation makes it out to be. It is a tragedy, a man finding a liberation that ends up being his jailer and his self-inflicted end. The humanity of Jekyll, his trying to protect the world from himself, was both touching and pitiable. 

I love Stevenson's writing. I'll read more of him. Kidnapped? Treasure Island? 

Title: The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Author: Robert Louie Stevenson

Published: 1886 (originally)

Pages: 144

Total Books Blogged: 37

Total Pages: 10,917

Completed (ages ago): The Orenda by Joseph Boyden

I started a new degree in September. Oh, yes I did... I started school in September and totally and completed fell off the blog. However, I am proud to say that I did not stop reading. I have, between books for school and books for fun, read seven books to add to the blog. I will try to get to most of them soon, so that I'm caught up. This term I've only chosen one class, instead of two, so I should have a somewhat better balance of time!

The Orenda ended up on my Goodreads list from a Buzzfeed list about 'Books you won't be able to put down'. I often read those lists, and if a book sounds amazing, I'll add it to my to-read list on Goodreads. That list has ballooned to over 150 books. My house contains hundreds upon hundreds that I also have not read. Yet somehow I keep buying books!

I didn't realize that The Orenda was a critically acclaimed book this past year, or that so many of my friends and colleagues were either reading it or wanted to do so. I just felt like getting a good long book, and picked this one.

The Orenda is a journey of astounding composition. I can genuinely say that all Canadians, each and every one, should read this book. It is an important piece of history, though it is historical fiction - it depicts in heart-wrenching detail the truth and the humanity behind the history of early contact between First Nations and Europeans.

Unlike the Buzzfeed list title, I could indeed put this book down. In fact, it took some time for me to get into it (probably the first hundred pages or so), and there were times further along that my heart needed a break. This book is a heavy, difficult read that will add value, knowledge and perspective to the life of all Canadians, especially those who are not familiar with First Nations history. But it is heavy. Even sitting and writing this blog, I think back on some of the book and realize how profoundly and permanently impactful it was. It is not casual reading - it demands your attention, and occasionally stabs you with its reality and truth.

But read it. Please, please read it.

Title: The Orenda
Author: Joseph Boyden
Published: 2013
Pages: 501

Total Books Blogged: 36
Total Pages: 10,773

Completed: Merde Actually by Stephen Clarke

I'm kinda bummed that this is the book that will push me over the 10,000 page mark. I'm pretty proud of that milestone, but this book was only mediocre.

I feel like a lot of the details I could overlook with moderate ease in the first book - the misogyny, the oversexualized everything, the arrogance of the main character - I could not ignore in the context of this book's plot. I found myself hoping I was almost done. I think most of my surprise moments in the book consisted of how willing French women were to sleep with the chauvinist main character. I've known a few French women - and they don't sleep with just anyone!

If there were more books in this series, I would not read them. But this is the last one.

Title: Merde Actually
Author: Stephen Clarke
Published: 2005
Pages: 448

Total Books Blogged: 35
Total Pages: 10,272 

Completed (again): A Year in the Merde by Stephen Clarke

Why is this titled Completed (again)? Well, I have read this book before. It has been years, and it was as though I was reading it for the first time, as I had no recollection of the story - nothing rang a bell. Hard to believe I once read it at all!

It was OK. I have the follow-up, too, which is called Merde Actually. I'll probably power through it quickly. Paul (the main character) is a bit of a chauvinistic pig, and so relatively distasteful. The kind of person I used to avoid in bars because I (rightly) guessed about his opinions of women. He kept finding beautiful, confident French women to sleep with, and, having known a few beautiful, confident French women, I would be surprised that they would all fall into bed with that kind of guy. 

Meh - it was a fluffy summer book, with some fun comedy mixed into some things that made my feminist self cringe. We'll see if book #2 does any better!

Title: A Year in the Merde
Author: Stephen Clarke
Published: 2004
Pages: 383

Total Books Blogged: 34
Total Pages: 9824

Completed: Fifteen by Beverly Cleary

Oh, it has been a long time since I read a Beverly Cleary book. I think anyone about my age read some when they were a teen, but I don't think I've picked one up in, oh, 15 years?

This one was quaint. In many ways nothing like my teenage years, and in many ways exactly like my teenage years. 

It is set in the 50s, it would seem. There is discussion of girdles, buckled shoes, soda floats, wearing gloves and hats on dates, and dieting (which you wouldn't see in a book about teenagers nowadays!). There's dates to dances, trading dances with another couple, and of course, everyone's old-fashioned favorite, 'going steady'!

None of these were part of my teenage years (except for desperate dietary attempts to GAIN weight, as I was quite pitifully underweight due to my out-of-control metabolism as a teen!).

However, the second-guessing, always trying to fit in, trying to find confidence, frustrating babysitting gigs, cute boy crushes, long phone calls with your best friend, and parents just not getting it, well, I had all of those things...!

It was an easy read. I'm finding that tossing a young adult novel in every once in awhile just adds a nice balance to my reading - not everything needs to be an intense roller-coaster of prime-quality, award-winning literature. This quick read is proof that spending a few nights having a heartfelt, nostalgic trip down teen memory lane is just as good a time.

Title: Fifteen
Author: Beverly Cleary
Published: 1956
Pages: 203

Total Books Blogged: 33
Total Pages: 9441

Completed: Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons; also, The Tayinat List

Once upon a time, in 2005, I was on an archaeological excavation in southern Turkey. We flew in and out of an airport about 2 hours' drive away. On the very last night, we all sat up in our outside hang-out space - it was lovingly known as the Languidarium. The flight was at maybe 6 in the morning. But this meant heading for the airport at about 3. We chose not to sleep before we left.

I passed around a piece of paper. I asked everyone to contribute books that they thought I shouldn't live my life without reading, for whatever reason mattered to them. I got a varied and eclectic list. And although Watchmen got mentioned that night (for some reason I remember it distinctly), it is not in fact on the list. But lots of other great books are. I've read 11 of them:

• Life of Pi
• Memoirs of a Geisha
• Eats, Shoots and Leaves
• Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
• My Name is Red (very much NOT my favorite book - took me 8 months to force myself to finish)
• The Bluffer's Guide to Archaeology
• Away by Jane Urquhart
• Baghdad Without a Map
• Pillars of the Earth (one of my all-time favorite books)
• Eye of the Needle
• Murder in Mesopotamia

I haven't read more, mostly because I tend to forget about the list - though I still have the original piece of paper:

So - should I get around to reading any more of these books, I'll tag them with The Tayinat List tag (Tayinat being the site I was working at), so that they're recognized as pieces of contribution by my colleagues that summer to my reading enjoyment (except for My Name is Red - that book was just terrible to me!). 

OK so back to Watchmen (which I always want to call The Watchmen, but it's not). This book is in the Time Magazine Top 100 Best Novels (of all years since 1923, all genres). It is one that has been made into a movie - a movie I did not watch, as I always try to read the book first. 

This was my first graphic novel, and I've never really read comic books or anything either.

So, with that precursor, this was not my favorite book. I truly understand some of the brilliance in the writing, in the story, and in the implications of the subject matter. But I really had to make myself read it - it didn't grip me, and having now read a graphic novel, I'm not sure if it is my favorite medium to read. So I guess this is a classic where I understand why it's a classic, but it's also really not my thing. 

My favorite pieces were Dr. Manhattan's reflections - on himself, on earth, on humanity. I loved his perspective, despite its heartbreaking coldness at times.In chapter IV, he talked about stars - that was my favorite quote, so here you go - upon reflecting on an old photograph of him and Janey: "I am going to look at the stars. They are so far away and their light takes so long to reach us... All we ever see of stars are their old photographs."

Title: Watchmen

Author: Alan Moore. Illustrated and lettered by Dave Gibbons

Published: 2008

Pages: Amazon tells me it's 416

Total books blogged: 32

Total pages: 9238

Completed: Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

What a tour de force, and an appropriate round-number 30th book to add to the blog.

It has been some time since I was unable to put down a book. I must confess that I read a bit beyond my lunch break today in order to wrap up this book, as I couldn't tear myself away.

I find it hard to write about this story. I really want to pour it all out, but I also REALLY want you to read this book - and I can't say much about it if I want you to read it properly. The book is perfectly built. It creates its universe and slowly, tantalizingly grows. It is addictive.

I will write about Ruth instead. Ruth is the narrator's best friend. However, she reminds me tremendously of someone who I used to consider a best friend, and that person's flaws ended up driving me away. They crept under my skin and made me resentful, suspicious and frustrated, and I chose to walk away from it. Therefore, I am shocked that Ishiguro managed to write a character so similar to this person so as to bring up all of these unpleasant memories, and yet I STILL became strongly attached to this book. Normally, if I find a character unappealing, it shades the book as a whole and I find it more difficult to read. Perhaps if Ruth had been the narrator it would have turned me off of the book altogether. But somehow, this book still held me, despite this (to me) unsavoury character.

Breathtaking, thought-provoking, and challenging. Read this book.

Title: Never Let Me Go
Author: Kazuo Ishiguro
Published: 2005
Pages: 288

Total Books Blogged: 30
Total Pages: 8432

Completed: The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

I first read The Phantom Tollbooth in Grade 5 or so, I think. I didn't like it.

I therefore don't know what possessed me to take it back out from the library in order to re-read it. But I did. It sat there for a bit before I got to it.

But WOW. I'm so glad I re-read it. I think I'd put it in the top ten best books I've ever read. I think I'll likely read it many more times, as I feel there is so much more to get out of it. The way Juster writes is just magic. His imagination to create this world is incredible. I couldn't pick out my favorite part, because each and every sentence makes you think and wonder. Everything he wrote just made me gasp and laugh and reflect - it's brilliant start to finish.

Maurice Sendak (author of Where the Wild Things Are) says in the introduction that "The Phantom Tollbooth is concerned with the awakening of the lazy mind." I love this, as I think it's an excellent way to sum up how I feel after reading it.

Oh. And The Pilgrim's Progress by Paul Bunyan is on my to-read list - I have a beautiful old copy of it to read. Maurice Sendak recommended it to me...

Title: The Phantom Tollbooth
Author: Norton Juster
Published: 1961
Pages: 256

Total Books Blogged: 28
Total Pages: 7,853

Reading out loud: Bedtime with my kids

As long as I have known my sons, I have read to them before bed. They brush their teeth, they curl up with myself and/or D on our bed, and we read to them.

The past year or so, we have moved on a bit from picture books. G is ten now; J is 7. Both still love a few of our story books, and we read them occasionally. But they now have both the attention span and desire to have longer books read to them. The first of these was Nicholas St. North and the Battle of the Nightmare King, and we have since read several others - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The Witches, and Kai: Ninja of Fire (a novel based on the Lego Ninjago series). Currently we are reading How to Steal a Dragon's Sword from the How to Train Your Dragon series.

I originally did not include these in my blog but then I thought - why shouldn't I? Even more than the novels I read by myself, I read each and every word of these out loud, very carefully (and doing all the voices!). They are just as much a part of my repertoire as everything else I read.

So! Here a smidge on each book:

Nicholas St. North: Amazing! What a brilliant young-adult book. The author has done others, and I would love to read them - just haven't made the time yet. This one's inspiration is 'St. Nick', or father Christmas. There is one about the Easter Bunny as well, and several others besides. SUCH a great book. I don't even remember where we got it, but I wish I could let them know how much we loved it!

The Witches and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: Roald Dahl is incredible. The boys loved Charlie, and they liked The Witches, though they found the witches a bit scary (as did I! I forgot that some parts were quite graphic...). They got a boxed set of his collected works for Christmas. Also a somber reminder to all of us: His daughter was lost to measles at just 7 years old. Vaccinate!!

Ninjago's Kai: Ninja of Fire: Not the worst thing I've ever read, and thankfully short. The kids enjoyed it...?

Completed: 
Nicholas St. North and the Battle of the Nightmare King by William Joyce and Laura Geringer
The Witches by Roald Dahl
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
Lego Ninjago - Kai: Ninja of Fire by Greg Farshtey

Altogether now:
Pages: 228 + 201 + 180 + 74 = 683

Total Books Blogged: 26
Total Pages: 7,268

Completed: Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman

I was checking online as we were heading to the library, on our accounts, to check what needed to head back. I couldn't, for the life of me, find one book. Our library helpfully (or not) calls most of the books in the kids' section "Children's paperback" if they happen to be a paperback in the kids' section. So, I was faced with number 93873834 "Children's paperback". I could not find it. We searched the car, the kids' backpacks, and their rooms. I checked the library shelf three times over. No book.

So, later last night I was working on my stamp collection (yes, I'm a proud dork) at my desk, and suddenly, I noticed Fortunately, the Milk sitting there, waiting to be blogged. I had taken it on a trip to a friend's wedding, and finished it in about half an hour. But I hadn't gotten around to blogging it. I checked the top - 93873834. Yay! Book!

So I will quickly blog this book so that it can go back to the library prior to having fines attached to it.

I will precurse this review by saying that I have never read any of Neil Gaiman's books for adults. I picked up this book to see if G might like it, as his avid love of reading shows no sign of slowing down.

It was just OK. The story was a bit generic and lacked creativity. However, the artwork was incredible, and so for that alone I would recommend picking it up. It is short and sweet - I was very glad to have brought a second book on my trip, as I hadn't realized quite how quick a read it would be (I'll blog the other one soon, as I finished it as well!).

Favorite little bit of the book:

"We can't eat our cereal," said my sister, sadly.
"I don't see why not," said my father. "We've got plenty of cereal. There's Toastios and there's muesli. We have bowls. We have spoons. Spoons are excellent. Sort of like forks, only not as stabby."

There's some excellent Dad humour for ya!

Title: Fortunately, the Milk
Published: 2013
Pages: 110

Total Books Blogged: 20
Total Pages: 5956

Completed: Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt (*spoilers again!*)

The large number of posts of late has more to do with the fact that I had stockpiled completed books, even renewing some from the library to hold onto until I got to write about them (rather than me all of a sudden reading a tremendous number of books...!)

It wasn't a lack of time to write; it was a lack of will. I go through phases where I don't feel like it - for weeks or even months at a time. But now and again I just get on a roll and enjoy it so much. Even working on my other writing - sometimes by hand, as I feel I just never get a chance to write with a pen much anymore, apart from list after list of to-dos. It's nice to write with a pen for fun, it reminds me of my diary in high school, only much less dramatic now.

Along with The Borrowers, and now Tuck Everlasting, I feel like I'm catching up on some of the classics that I never read in school. And much like The Borrowers, I was sadly disappointed with the ending to Tuck Everlasting. But I'll get to that in a moment.

First I'll share my favorite, very poignant, part. It's when Tuck is sharing, teaching Winnie about why their life is not a life at all. "...[D]ying's part of the wheel, right there next to being born. You can't pick out the pieces you like and leave the rest. Being part of the whole thing, that's the blessing. But it's passing us by, us Tucks." (p. 63). It's a heartbreaking moment, when Tuck shares their pain with someone for the first time in such a long time. And Winnie, a child, can only process it so far.

Perhaps it is her naivete that causes her to do what she does - give the spring water to the toad. I just... the romantic in me wanted her to run away with Jesse. But I suppose it was the teen in Jesse that wanted Winnie to come, the youthful idealism. And Winnie would have been just as miserable as the Tucks. But I just - that's where I wanted the story to end - a teen Winnie off into the night, into the world, with Jesse.

I still don't understand the toad. But would definitely recommend you read it!

Title: The Borrowers
Author: Natalie Babbitt
Published: 1975 (originally), 2007 (my copy)
Publisher: Square Fish
Pages: 139

Total Books Blogged: 18
Total Pages: 5514

Completed: The Borrowers by Mary Norton (*spoilers*)

I try to not to give away the punchline of books in my blog, as I am not a spoiler of good books (although I've certainly accidentally spoiled enough hockey games for a friend of mine at work - blessings of PVR).

But I can't talk about this book without talking about the ending! So look away, readers, if you haven't yet read this book.

I loved the Borrowers. I'm loving the young adult fiction genre lately, and this was no exception. The interesting world of the little family beneath the floor was a joy, and also an interesting perspective on the world. Not knowing that the sky is blue, constant fear of discovery. Arrietty's constant adventurousness, curiosity, and naivete.

But the ending nearly ruined it all for me. I've found this with several books over time - most notably Life of Pi. But goodness - Mrs. May's brother had the same writing? They were just a story from his imagination? No! I wanted them to be lost to the storyteller - that the items disappeared, were taken by the Clocks, and that they were never seen again. Not to find out in the end that he was, in fact, Arrietty. I mean, what a wonderful story to create, but I really didn't, within the context of the fiction, want them to be imaginary. I wanted them to be real. And so I was so sorely disappointed at the end. Utterly crushed.

I suppose, though, that speaks to the book's quality. Mediocre books don't inspire that kind of emotion. So I supposed it's a great book that I don't like the ending of at all. At all at all.

Title: The Borrowers
Published: 1981? (Originally 1953)
Pages: 180

Total Books Blogged: 17
Total Pages: 5375

Completed: The Bedside Book of Famous French Stories

I finished this book long ago - well before Christmas. I just have not written. And I find I don't miss it when I'm not writing, but as soon as I start to write, I realize that I did, in fact, somehow miss it, and that there is something liberating about writing.

The Bedside Book of Famous French Stories was well worth the read, cover to cover. You've already heard about it once, but I have a bit more to add now that I've gotten through the whole book.

The first thing that went throughout the text, through the various time periods that flowed through each of the stories (which could have gone on for another 400 or so pages, if I'd had my way!), was that the short stories in this book were full of political commentary. They touched on topics including government, war, the prison system, morality, art. Political fiction is not normally an appealing genre to me, but each of these stories was enjoyable in its own way.

One story, The Torture of Hope by Villiers do L'Isle-Adam, was particularly poignant in this regard, but the title completely spoiled it for me. It falls into the modern category of "Spoiler Alert!" - the title betrays what is coming, and the denouement of the story was shattered because the progression was clear before I even started. It was my only disappointment within the book, and that's difficult to write, because, without the title, it was a fabulous story. If I gave it to you with no title on it, you'd be on the edge of your seat. But my seat fell through on me. The original Spoiler!

I've been through two more books since I finished this book, I'll add them here at some point in the near, or not so near, future!

Title: The Bedside Book of Famous French Stories
Editors: Belle Becker and Robert N. Linscott
Published: 1945
Pages: 427

Total books blogged: 13
Total pages: 4572

Currently Reading: The Bedside Book of Famous French Stories

"If many old women of eighty were occasionally to tell you the history of their loves, you would perhaps find that the feminine soul contains sources of good and evil of which you have no idea." ~George Sand

The French certainly have a way with words - Honore de Balzac, Gustave Flaubert, Emile Zola, Guy de Maupassant. They are all names that were familiar, but that I had not read before. I've also never much read short stories, and so I've stepped twice outside of my known reading. And boy has it been worth it so far!

The stories are so beautifully crafted - part of the art of these short stories is in their rich language and description, which brought me to the reflection that - I wonder how much is lost or changed in translation? I've read literature in French before, and I wonder how much the language changes when it is translated. It's so beautiful translated into English - it almost makes me want to brush up my French and try to read these stories in their native tongue. Almost - not sure if I'm ready for language studies yet!

I picked the quote above because it made me think of a quote that shows up on the screens in the print office at the university where I work - it says something along the lines of "Spend some time every day with someone over the age of 70 and under the age of 7". I do not get the opportunity to do that each day, but I do love to spend time with my grandparents and inlaws (only some of whom have hit 70!), and my beautiful children and nieces. It's often amazing to think of all of the experiences that our elders have gone through. You may see a senior with their shopping bag and their plastic hair-wrap to keep off the rain. But that elderly lady was once a young woman. Maybe she modelled. Maybe she ran away with her military beau in her teens. Maybe she broke stereotypes and worked on cars, or went to university, or drove truck. You just never know to look at someone.

The quote above reminded me that inside every old person was once a young person - perhaps a bold one, perhaps a mischievous one, perhaps a helpful one, perhaps a heartbroken one. I wish I could sit down more often and talk to someone about their life. Maybe I need to volunteer at an old folks' home.

Completed: The Lord of the Ring trilogy

That's it! I'm all done grad school. It doesn't quite seem real yet. I haven't yet felt a sense of loss at no longer having that status, but perhaps that is because being done is better than being in the fray. "I can't - too busy with school" doesn't apply any more, but I still feel there aren't enough hours. "There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want." Garfield? Calvin? Not sure who said it, but it applies to me. I want to play my flute, and work on my stamp collection (mock if you will - it was fun when I was a kid and it's still fun), do puzzles, write on this blog, read more, enjoy TV without guilt, experiment with cooking, get back to the gym (went to a brutal spin class today - first time in two months!), write to my family more... so much to do! It's only been a few weeks, but I've started to get to my non-grad-student list.

And one of the things I wanted to get to was the Lord of the Rings. I last wrote when I was reading the Fellowship. I have gotten through the Two Towers, and also the Return of the King. I tried to read the appendices, but the first one was like reading that part of the Bible where so-and-so begot such-and-such - just a huge list of jumbled names, and I just couldn't. Plus, I didn't want the extra information to take away from what was an absolutely mesmerizing place - Middle Earth is wonderful. I would visit in a heartbeat - particularly Lothlorien. He really did create a whole world. When you read a book and not one detail is missing to make it real - when nothing takes your attention away from the story, because the background is flawless - that is truly magical writing. I enjoyed every sentence. Even the simplest detail was beautifully conveyed. Everyone should read LOTR.

I have seen the first movie, and of course, with the book so fresh in my mind, I was somewhat disappointed. I suppose I shouldn't have expected more - they couldn't possibly include all of the details that made the books as good as they were. But they left out a LOT. Like Tom Bombadil.

I've waited so long, so I look forward to the other two movies. But I can say with absolute certainty that the books are worth every moment you spend reading them. I waited far too long to tuck them under my belt.

Titles: Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, The Return of the King
Author: J. R. R. Tolkein
Pages: 1,664

Total books blogged: 4
Total pages: 1,874

Currently reading: The Lord of the Rings Trilogy

I am 27 years old, and am finally reading the Lord of the Rings. I have fond memories of my father reading the Hobbit to me when we lived in India, when I was 10 or so, but I never followed up with the trilogy itself. When they became movies, I swore I would not watch them until I read the books. That was many years ago. Despite the subtle prompting by D (he purchased me the first book on a whim at the bookstore one day), I still did not start reading until very recently, but I did keep my promise to myself: I have not seen the movies yet.

I should probably preempt this by saying I don't like sci fi or fantasy in most cases. There are exceptions - my friend H told me to read Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman, and it was a transportation to another world. And I've found that in almost all cases and for all things that I think I don't like, there are exceptions. Even eggplant. So I went into the Lord of the Rings knowing it was a literary classic and that I would likely find it wonderful, if not my usual cup of tea.

I am currently in the dark and terrifying underground realm of Moria, and I wish I had more time to read. I read on my lunch break, on my coffee break. With my graduate studies taking up so much of my time, I have acquired a vast library of books that I have not read. D also has many books that I have not read. I think this blog will be many things, but one thing it will let me do is reflect on my literary travels though my library, as I will, hopefully, be wrapping up my grad studies soon and can devote more time to the life I've been missing out on while I've been busy becoming a Master.