My Favorite Reads – The Book Thief

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Alyce from At Home With Books features one of her favorite reads each Thursday and this week my pick is a recent favorite of mine.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

The Book Thief

From the inside flap: Narrated by Death, Markus Zusak’s groundbreaking new novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a young foster girl living outside of Munich in Nazi Germany. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she discovers something she can’t resist — books. Soon she is stealing books from Nazi book-burnings, the mayor’s wife’s library, wherever they are to be found. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, Liesel learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids, as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement.

There are two things that I love about this book: 1.) it’s about books and, 2.) Death is the narrator. Don’t worry, I’m not giving anything away by telling you that Death narrates this story. He introduces himself on page 1. What it does is lend an amazing quality to this book that’s already set against an incredibly sad backdrop. Liesel is someone you automatically fall in love with. She’s clever, scared, and has seen way too many things for her young age but a good portion of that is due to current circumstances. The story itself is heartbreaking but worth every tear-inducing word on each page of this book. While Death is trying to make sense of the horror strewn landscape of World War II, you learn about his compassion through Liesel’s story. It’s simply a fantastic tale and one you shouldn’t miss.

Got a favorite read to share this week?

A Corpse at St. Andrew’s Chapel

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A Corpse at St. Andrew's Chapel

A Corpse at St. Andrew’s Chapel

By Mel Starr

Monarch Books

ISBN: 978-1-85424-954-8

3.75 stars

Master Hugh de Singleton is a surgeon and the bailiff at Bampton manor. He’s the Lord’s representative and not always a popular person around the manor. One night, the village beadle, the man in charge of curfew, goes out on his rounds but doesn’t return the next morning. Hugh and a few men from the village go out to search for him and find him dead under a bush looking as if he’d been attacked by a wild animal. Soon after, a second person turns up dead and Hugh finds himself on a search for two killers.

In addition to his duties at the castle, Hugh is trying to solve two murders, find a poacher, and reassure people that a wild and crazed wolf is not on the prowl. He spends his days creeping about like one of the killers hoping to find out who’s been poaching deer from the Lord’s forest and wondering if the two murdered men might have seen something they shouldn’t have.

A Corpse at St. Andrew’s Chapel is a medieval murder mystery. It’s the second book in the chronicles of Hugh de Singleton. It was a quick, fun read and while it was still a bit of historical fiction for me (which I’ve sort of been avoiding to staunch any burnout I think I might be suffering from) it wasn’t overflowing with history, it was just the setting and I enjoyed that about the book. There were a few odd parts which I could have done without (Hugh gets a bit too interested in a scullery maid for my taste — leering is never becoming) but overall it a was nice distraction from my regular reading pattern. It’s the second book in the series featuring Hugh de Singleton but it worked as a standalone book for me. You don’t need to know anything about the people and places and Starr provides enough background for you to understand without feeling left out. My guess is that might change as the series progresses. A third book in the series is planned — A Trail of Ink.

I received this book through the Early Reviewer program on LibraryThing.

Teaser Tuesdays

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Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. The idea is to give everyone a look inside the book you’re reading.

1.) Grab your current read

2.) Open to a random page

3.) Share two teaser sentences from that page

4.) Share the title and author so that other participants know what you’re reading.

“Louisa felt the skirts of her slim black dress swirl around her ankle boots, the pair she’d had for years, the pair she’d worn in Rome in the cathedrals, in Nice, in the parlor of the Paris inn where she’s shared wine with a Polish revolutionary as he described the death of all his friends. The boots were sturdy but the leather was cracked.”

The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott by Kelly O’Connor McNees, page 1.

The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott

Can’t wait to start this one today. So, what you are teasing us with this week?

Lord of the Rings Read-Along – The Return of the King Mid-Month Check-In

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The LOTR Read-Along is half way through the last book, The Return of the King. I finished the book but thought I’d take a few minutes to answer the questions. I tried to stay away from spoilers but, well…don’t say I didn’t warn you. If you’re still reading, skip the last two questions.

Maree at Just Add Books is hosting The Return of the King this month.

1) Where are you in your reading? Are you still with Bilbo and Smaug? Just starting out? Or have you finished already and are tapping your fingernails on the book cover, waiting for me to catch up?

I’m finished with the book but waiting patiently — no tapping of fingernails here.

2) If this is your first time reading LOTR, how are you finding it? Are you falling in love with Middle Earth? and Legolas?

See question 3.

3) If you’re a repeat offender reader, like me, how are you finding the return journey? Are you loving it just as much as ever? What little treasures have you found in ROTK that you never noticed before?

I’m a repeat offender reader. It’s been at least five years since I cracked the spines on these books and it was fun getting to know everyone again.

I didn’t remember as much of ROTK as the other books so it was really nice getting into this one. I’d happily be reading and then all of sudden realize that what I thought happened in this book actually took place in the movie. I’m glad I re-read this one because it brought all of the story back to me. It was like finding a long lost friend. I also reaffirmed just how much I like this book. Now, I love all of them but there was something about this one that was really fitting. After all the fighting and death it was nice to see some of my favorite characters find peace.

4) How do you feel, when you close the end of the last part; after Sam’s words on the last page? Are you sad it’s over, nostalgic? Looking for your next read already?

Nostalgic, definitely. I was happy to finally come to the end and see the hobbits home but sad that it was over.

I don’t know about everyone else, but I love that Sam has the last word — “Well, I’m back.” I don’t know why but it’s just perfect for me. While I have several soft spots for characters in the books — Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli to name a few — Sam is by far my favorite character. He’s a true friend and someone everyone can, and does, count on. He’s strong when needed and gentle when called for.

5) What’s your favourite scene in ROTK?

The Scouring of the Shire. I love how Frodo, Sam, Pippen, and Merry incite a riot and get all the hobbits to take back their homes. It’s so fitting. While it’s a bit sad that they did fight for all the men and none came to help them out, I like that they stand up and take what’s theirs. (OK, really my only complaint about the book. Can’t anyone be bothered to help out the hobbits that saved their butts?! Oh no, it’s the time of men, busy, busy, busy.)

The Sunday Salon

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Since I missed doing a Sunday Salon last week, I thought I’d include two weeks worth of reading round-up which still isn’t a whole lot since work has been incredibly busy and I haven’t found a lot of time to read the last few weeks.

The round up:

A Corpse at St. Andrews Chapel by Mel Starr

The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien

I’m currently finishing up The Greatest Knight by Elizabeth Chadwick. I also gave up on Jane Smiley’s The Greenlanders. It’s not a total give up but a back on the TBR list for another time. I want to take another try at it but it’s due back at the library and I won’t get to it before it starts accumulating fines so back on the list it goes.

Last week I came across an article on Salon.com by Jeanette DeMain titled, “Amazon reviewers think this masterpiece sucks: From “The Grapes of Wrath” to “1984” — some amateur critics just can’t stand the classics.”

She goes on to talk about some of the more scathing reviews left on Amazon which had me laughing and cringing at the same time. Like the article’s author, I use Amazon to look up titles, find books, and see what some are saying about a particular tome. I’ve been amused by some of the reviews, piqued by others, and in some cases just downright flabbergasted by the cruel use of the thesaurus which was trotted out only to be used to inflict additional pain in finding words that mean hate. In general, I don’t post my reviews on Amazon but I do wonder at some of the mean-spirited reviews out there.

When reviewing a book, I never aim to be mean even when I didn’t enjoy a book. What good does that do? Just because I didn’t like a book doesn’t mean that others will not. My tastes are my own and I always try to remember that when writing a review. I’ve read books that have come highly recommended and found the books just all right and sometimes even boring. Hey, it happens. We can’t, and don’t, all love the same books. Isn’t that what makes this fun though?

Anyway, I thought the article would be of interest to a few out there and wanted to give it a brief mention since it got me thinking about my own writings and musing.

Happy Sunday.

Friday Finds – Conspiracies, the Dead, and Kraken

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I haven’t played along in a while and I have recently added a few more finds to my TBR and thought, well, it’s as good a time as any to share some books and spread the love.

A Conspiracy of Kings by Megan Whalen Turner. This is the fourth book in the series. I enjoyed the first, The Thief, and hope to make my way through the series this year. Luckily, my library has the first three in the series. The books are YA fantasy and I’m feelin’ like a little fantasy in the coming weeks.

The Dead Travel Fast by Deanna Raybourn. Gothic romance set in 1858 Scotland and Transylvania. I don’t read much romance but there’s something intriguing about Scotland (OK, I’ll read almost anything that’s set in Scotland. Really, I will.) and Transylvania with a little bit of the paranormal thrown in the mix.

Kraken by China Mieville. An alternative London where magic and myth reside side by side. It’s the end of the world and everyone is fighting to either bring it about or stop it. I don’t need anymore than that, just please sign me up for this one!

A Conspiracy of Kings

The Dead Travel Fast

Kraken

Friday Finds is hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Leave a comment here with a link to your own finds, or share your answers at Should Be Reading. Happy Friday.

Wolf Hall

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Wolf Hall

Wolf Hall

By Hilary Mantel

Henry Holt & Company

ISBN: 978-0-8050-8068-1

Henry VIII needs an heir. His twenty year marriage to his queen, Katherine, has only produced one child, a girl named Mary. More children aren’t forthcoming and he wants out of the crumbling marriage. He becomes obsessed with Lady Anne Boleyn. The king’s quest for an heir and a way out of his marriage lay waste to his trusted circle of advisors including a once close friend, Cardinal Wolsey. Henry believes the only way out of the marriage is to break with Rome, the pope, and Catholic Europe so he can make himself head of a new church, grant himself a divorce, and marry Anne.

Thomas Cromwell, a man of Wolsey’s who survived the Cardinal’s political downfall, steps into the fray. He’s a former soldier, an opportunist, and always seems to get his way. He’s exactly the man the king needs to break his stalemate with Rome, establish a new religion, and marry and, hopefully, produce an heir with Anne.

I’ve had Wolf Hall sitting on my shelf for several months and I was really excited to finally pick it up. Unfortunately, I was not in the mood for this book which really disappointed me. That’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy the book because I did, very much actually. But I didn’t become attached to any of the characters and if I had put this book down at any point, I probably would not have picked it back up again. Thankfully, I was traveling with this book and stuck in four airports which provided not only the opportunity but the will to finish reading it.

Henry VIII is manic — one day he loves you, hates you the next. Anne Boleyn is phenomenally mean, driven, and crazy but it’s so pitch perfect that you love her for it and thank Mantel for making her such an interesting character. Cromwell is a bully, sometimes mean, but most of the time subtle. He has an uncanny ability to understand people and know what they want and use it to his own ends. His family situation is bad as a child but, once he escapes, things turn around for him. I, however, didn’t feel anything for him. I didn’t like or dislike him, just felt nothing.

One annoying thing about this book, and I read this in another review and was ready for it, Cromwell is constantly referred to as he. I was looking for it and maybe that’s why it stuck out so much. Once I got used to it, it was fine though. And, no, I’m not trying to cause you any undue annoyance here, just pointing out something that will be abundantly obvious as soon as you finish the first paragraph. You’ll most likely get over as I did.

I will say this — the writing is fabulous and the entire story so wonderfully told. I just wish I had picked this one up at another time. It wasn’t what I was looking to read but I do see myself re-reading this book at some point in the future.

Normally I include a 1 to 5 rating with my reviews. I’m bypassing that this time. I’m conflicted about this book (as you might have already noticed, you can thank me later for pointing that out now) and I didn’t want to let my odd reading preferences color my review too much. So, take from all this what you will.

Teaser Tuesdays – A Double

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Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. The idea is to give everyone a look inside the book you’re reading.

1.) Grab your current read

2.) Open to a random page

3.) Share two teaser sentences from that page

4.) Share the title and author so that other participants know what you’re reading.

Today is a double Teaser Tuesday. I’m sharing from the book I’m reading and the book I’ll be starting.

“He came back at last to the stone door of the orc-passage, and still unable to discover the catch or bolt that held it, he scrambled over as before and dropped softly to the ground. Then he made his way stealthily to the outlet of Shelob’s tunnel, where the rags of her great web were still blowing and swaying in the cold airs.”

The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien, page 877-878.

“In the dark hour before dawn, all the shutters in the great hall were closed against the evil vapours of the night. Under the heavy iron curfew, the fire was a quenched dragon’s eye.”

The Greatest Knight by Elizabeth Chadwick, page 1.

What you are teasing us with this week?

The Return of the King

The Greatest Knight