Lord of the Rings Read-Along: The Two-fer Edition

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I’m going to combine two Lord of the Rings Read-Along posts this week because I’m way behind on my posts and my reading and I want to catch up and this is the way I’m going to do it. 🙂

First, thanks to Teresa at Shelf Love for hosting The Two Towers discussion in March and to Maree at Just Add Books for hosting The Return of the King this month.

Here are the final questions for The Two Towers:

1)The last half of The Two Towers covers fewer characters than the first half. For some, this makes Book 4 slower than the rest of the book; others love the intense focus on Frodo, Gollum, and Sam. Where do you stand on this question?

I’m in between on this one. I understand why it was done (at least I think I do) but it’s odd when you’re reading. Yes, the fellowship is now on two separate quests and writing it as two stories only heightens that reality but it does sometimes make me wonder why they don’t seem to think about each other and how they’re doing.

2)If you’re a first-time reader (or even a rereader), what surprised you most about this half of the book?

I starting feeling very different about Frodo. I tend to think of him as sappy but I think that’s more a movie impression since Elijah Wood always looks like he’s going to cry in the movie (just my two cents and not meant to be mean-spirited). While reading, I started to remember that Frodo was a bit tougher than I really gave him credit for and I liked that.

3)Are there any specific moments that stand out as favorites or least favorites in this section?

I don’t think I have any least favorite moments but I really enjoyed meeting Faramir again.

4)What are some themes or ideas in this book (or the trilogy as a whole so far) that stand out to you?

Sam’s undying, unwavering friendship always stands out for me. He’s so loyal and true that I always want to hug him for just being who he is, not apologizing for it, and not feeling sorry for anything he does to help Frodo.

5)And the obligatory movie question: Many LOTR readers take the biggest issue with Jackson’s treatment of this part of the trilogy than with any other? Did the changes bother you? Are there any ways in which you think the movie was more effective?

I don’t think of the movies as more or less effective. It’s just a different medium and somethings that work so well in the book just don’t translate on screen. I like to think of them as separate but connected entities. So, no, I don’t think there was anything in the movies that was changed that bothered me intensely enough to mention here. I walk the middle line on this question. I like the books. I like the movies.

Here are the intro question for The Return of the King:

1) We’re coming to the end of the quest. Where are you in your reading?

I’m on chapter 4, The Siege of Gondor. Not all that far yet but I plan to catch up this week.

2) Have you read LOTR before? If so, what are you anticipating most re-reading in ROTK? (er … try to avoid spoilers, although I suppose that question makes that a bit tricky)

I have read the books before and I’m really looking forward to the refresher on ROTK since I don’t remember much from this book. Yep, that was a smooth avoidance wasn’t it. 😉

3) Who’s your favourite character in ROTK?

Aragorn. Just cuz he’s hot. 🙂

4) Favourite scene?

There is a speech that Aragorn gives to the gathered armies that starts, “Today is not the day…” I really am hoping that I’m not remembering something from the movie and not the book here but I have this very Julius Caesar/Marc Antony, Shakespearean like, speech vision in my head and I am starting to wonder where I remember it from…I hope it’s the book.

5) How do you feel about the overall series now that we’re getting near the end?

I’m feeling very nostalgic about the whole thing. I’ve read these books a few times and have very fond and different memories of all of them. Re-reading the books now has brought back some wonderful memories.

6) Have you seen the movies? Have they coloured your reading of ROTK?

Avoidance tactic two — yep, saw the movies. Yep, like the movies. Nope, not hurting my experience.

Man, this movie question just won’t walk on in to the sunset will it?

7) Does reading the books make you want to watch the movies, or run screaming in the other direction?

Uh, see 6. I’m planning to re-watch the movies when I’m done reading to see what was different. I’ve convinced the hubby to go along with me and he said, “What, so we’re planning to do nothing for the whole month of May but watch movies?” We only have the extended versions on DVD. So, if no on hears from me for a while…send popcorn.

Have any thoughts about the Lord of the Rings?

The Creation of Eve

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The Creation of Eve

The Creation of Eve

Lynn Cullen

G. P. Putnam’s Sons

ISBN: 978-0399156106

4.5 stars

In Rome 1559, Sofonisba Anguissola is training to be a painter. Under the tutelage of Michelangelo, she begins to stretch her talent to heights unheard of for a woman at the time. Her father places a lot of faith in her abilities and provides her with the best teachers, but her status as a woman means she cannot study, sketch, or paint the naked body. This leaves her with little understanding of the human form itself and she is told it adds an inhibited quality to her work that she struggles to overcome.

During her time in Rome, she meets and falls in love with another student of Michelangelo’s, Tiberio Calcagni. Their brief affair causes her shame and she leaves the city hoping that what happened between her and Tiberio will not be found out by her father who worked so hard to make sure she would have the chance to learn her craft.

Unaware of what will happen between her and Tiberio as there is no forthcoming proposal of marriage, she takes a position as a lady in waiting to Elisabeth of Valois, the young bride of Felipe II, the King of Spain. She is to teach the young Queen how to draw and paint. Unfortunately, her sad love life, or lack there of, weighs heavily on her. The love trials of the young Queen breaks Sofi’s heart while all this time she wonders silently about Tiberio.

Sofi’s heart suffers while she is at court and the growing attraction she sees between the Queen and the King’s brother, Don Juan, brings her even more heartbreak. Her choices are limited and she struggles with her heart, who she is, and what she must do for the Queen.

Very little action takes place in this novel but the affairs of the heart take center stage and the entire time you’re aware that the story is being told by an artist. The descriptions, colors, and experiences are filtered through an eye that is always looking for shape, texture, and depth.

Told through diary entries, each chapter begins with a painting hint or fact. I loved that the story was told through Sofi’s point of view as it allowed you to get close to the characters. Sofi’s descriptions of the court, the Queen’s dresses, the other ladies in waiting, and the palaces are wonderful and it’s as if you’re watching and hearing the conversations first hand.

Oddly enough this is a book about a painter but very little painting takes place. Somehow that’s a good thing as you come to know the artist behind the easel instead and it’s a good story. For anyone who loves historical fiction, this is a great read. You finish the last page wanting to know more about everyone in the story.

In addition to this blog, I also do reviews for The Book Reporter website. The above is a summary of my review, which can be read in full here. The book was provided to me by the publisher for The Book Reporter review.

My Favorite Reads – Warrior Women: An Archaeologist’s Search for History’s Hidden Heroines

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Alyce from At Home With Books features one of her favorite reads each Thursday and this week my pick is about strong women.

Warrior Women: An Archaeologist’s Search for History’s Hidden Heroines by Jeannine Davis-Kimball, Ph.D. With Mona Behan.

Warrior Women

From the back cover: After raising six children and working as a nurse and a cattle rancher, Dr. Jeannine Davis-Kimball became fascinated with the ancient legend of the Amazons. Traveling to remote Kazakhstan, a region halfway between Moscow and Mongolia, she went in search of history’s most powerful women. Now she describes her exciting, dangerous odyssey and what she found on the trail of the real-life female warriors, heroines, and leaders left out of the history books…until now. Pursing the truth from Asia to Ireland, Dr. Davis-Kimball discovered:

  • A troop of riding, sword-wielding women who were real, not a myth
  • The origins of the Irish warrior queens whose sepulchers remain on the fields of Eire.
  • The real identity of the fabulous “Gold Man” of Saka
  • The secret of China’s mysterious, mummified, auburn-haired priestesses

I read this book many years ago but the memory is still very vivid. Let me tell you a tale of a plane ride home from Las Vegas. I was on my way home from a business trip to Las Vegas and this was my flight home read. I had saved it specifically for the trip home because I knew it was going to be good. I settled myself in for the long ride and began reading. Two college boys on the way home from Spring Break took up the seats next to me. The poor guy who lost the battle for the isle grudgingly took the middle seat and ordered a drink as soon as possible from the flight attendant. A short while later he took note of my book and we struck up a conversation about it. He was reading it for a class and thought that it was one of the best books he read in years. I was only a few chapters in but had to agree — it was fascinating. Not only are the artifacts and the ancient cultures she uncovers interesting but the stories about the women are just amazing. She also intersperses the book with short excerpts about her travels which makes it read like an adventure.

I just noticed something odd about my favorites reads posts — all three have been non-fiction picks. I don’t think that I read enough non-fiction but obviously I have in the past. Who would have thought…

Got a favorite read to share this week?

Disquiet

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Disquiet

Disquiet

By Julia Leigh

Penguin Books

ISBN: 978-0-14-311350-8

5 stars

Disquiet is a tiny book with an enormous footprint.

It starts with a reunion but there’s nothing happy about it. It starts with a birth that quickly turns into a funeral which keeps getting delayed. It’s about neglect, abuse, ambivalence, and sadness so deep it’s all consuming that it brings everything and everyone to a halt.

Olivia shows up at her mother’s house in rural France with her two children who have never met their grandmother. She’s running away from her abusive husband and has no place left to go. Upon answering the door, her mother informs her that her brother, Marcus, and his wife Sofie, will be moving in with their new baby. She expects the two to arrive with the child at any moment. Unfortunately, the homecoming of Marcus and Sofie is a tragic one — the baby is stillborn. Sofie treats the child as if it it were still alive and refuses to bury the baby causing everyone in the house great distress. Her behavior is disturbing and wrenchingly sad as the same time. You feel horrible for her and at the same time want her to say goodbye and let the child go.

In a short amount of time, several lives collide and no one knows what to do or is in any position to take control leaving you feeling just as disturbed, scared, sick, hurt, and as crazy as everyone in this book.

Disquiet is an amazing book. There are no frilly descriptions, no soft language to cover any of the harsh realities of life, and, at the end, you feel the need for a warm smile and possibly even a hug. Leigh is a fantastic writer. If you see her book, pick it up.

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.

I haven’t had much time to read the last few days but I’m hoping a few things will clear up by the end of the week that will open up a bit more time. My teaser this fine Tuesday morning comes from The Greenlanders by Jane Smiley. It’s a bit dense (most of the book reads pretty much the same of the teaser below) but I’m willing to give it a go and I’m hoping it picks up soon.

“The Monk Nicholas stayed with Ivar Bardarson during the winter and the next, and all of this time he was making measurements and notations with the instruments he had brought. The English sailors thought little of the Greenlanders at first, and especially disliked the meat and other foods they had to eat, for, they said, dried meat was no substitute for bread, and milk was no substitute for wine and beer, which the English sailors were much accustomed to.”

The Greenlanders by Jane Smiley, page 41 – 42.

The Greenlanders

What you are teasing us with this week?

The Thief

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The Thief

The Thief

By Megan Whalen Turner

Puffin Books

ISBN: 0-14-038834-6

3.75 stars

Gen is a thief and a good one, with the small exception of getting caught and landing in the King’s prison for stealing and, bragging about, the King’s official seal. When the Magus, the King’s scholar, brings him out of the dungeon to his office he does it with the intention of extracting a promise. Gen can leave the prison and not return as along as he agrees to steal a mythical stone for the King. With no choice, he sets out with the Magus and a small group of travelers who make their way through the neighboring country into Attolia to steal the ancient treasure protected by the gods.

This book moved a little slow for me at first, but then, for whatever reason, I couldn’t put it down. Gen — who is annoying, complains often, and is constantly surly — is hiding something and you want to know what his secret is. He’s over confident but somehow you know he’s more than capable of stealing the stone. One thing I did enjoy were the stories and tales of the gods that Gen and the Magus tell the other travelers along the way. They offer history and ground the story while providing a few hints as to what’s to come.

The Thief is a good quick read and once I got into the story, I kept going without putting the book down. This is the first in a series and luckily my library has the next two: The Queen of Attolia and The King of Attolia. A fourth book, A Conspiracy of Kings, comes out later this year. I can see myself reading the entire series.

The Sunday Salon – Jelly Bean Edition

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Well, today is Easter Sunday in our household so a jelly bean issue it is. 🙂 I bought the jelly beans for my husband but since he doesn’t like them (Yes, I knew that when I bought them. He he he…) I’m going to sit here and munch on them while I write.

The round up this week:

Daughters of the Witching Hill by Mary Sharratt

The Tale of Halcyon Crane by Wendy Webb

And the March monthly wrap-up:

The Far Traveler: Voyages of a Viking Woman by Nancy Marie Brown

Isis: A Tale of the Supernatural by Douglas Clegg

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

The Kingmaking by Helen Hollick

The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner

The Creation of Eve by Lynn Cullen

The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien

Disquiet by Julia Leigh

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

White is for Witching by Helen Oyeyemi – DNF

Oddly, March brought along my first DNF for 2010. Guess there had to be a first. Overall, I was pretty surprised by all I read in March considering a few of the books were chunksters.

I finished The Tale of Halcyon Crane this afternoon and, while I was a tad skeptical, (It’s categorized as a horror and it’s not usually the type of book I get in to.) it sucked me in and didn’t let me go until I got to the last page. Than again, I’ve been reading a TON of historical fiction lately and I think I needed something set in my own time frame to get back in my reading groove. I’ll do a review in a few weeks so I won’t say too much more about it today.

Earlier this week I piled up my TBRs and found I have a good bit of reading for April. A lot more historical fiction (I keep promising myself I will add something contemporary…) and of course one book I’m really looking forward to — The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien. The is the last month for the LOTR Read-Along and I’m so looking forward to the last book. Sometime this week I’ll put together my final thoughts for The Two Towers and my initial thoughts for The Return of the King.

Well, I’m calling it a wrap. The chocolate bunny ears are calling. Does anyone out there like the red jelly beans? I don’t eat them and I seem to have a lot of them left…

Happy Sunday. 🙂

The Girl with Glass Feet

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The Girl with Glass Feet

The Girl with Glass Feet

By Ali Shaw

Henry Holt & Company

ISBN: 978-0805091144

3.5 stars

Ida Maclaird went to St. Hauda’s Land looking for answers to a strange affliction — her feet are turning to glass. While exploring the island, she meets Midas Crook. He’s introverted, skittish, and mostly avoids people preferring to see the world through the lens of his camera. For Midas, it’s easier to photograph life than experience it.

Ida, outgoing and friendly to Midas’s lonely and shy state, stops by the flower shop where he works and asks him to coffee. She confesses that she is looking for a man named Henry Fuwa. Midas knows him but because of his own emotional and personal history with Henry, tells her nothing. Midas wants to help, but can’t bring himself to say the words or to actually do anything. It is Ida who pushes the relationship forward and once again invites Midas to spend time with her. When Ida invites Midas to the cottage she is staying at, he gets a look at her feet which entrance him enough to photograph them while Ida sleeps. Ida is hurt by his actions but somehow still wants him around for which Midas is grateful, although he’s unable to express it.

Midas becomes so captivated with Ida and her feet that he goes to see Henry Fuwa without telling her. Henry tells him what he doesn’t want to hear — there is no cure and the glass will eventually overtake her whole body. Midas doesn’t tell Ida about this visit or what he has learned but is determined to help her. Somehow Ida finds herself falling in love with Midas but she can’t help but wonder if it’s the affliction or Midas that is actually causing the feelings she’s having. While she is hoping for a cure, she can see the glass spreading and is all too aware of the fact that she hasn’t much time left.

Over the course of Ida looking for a cure, you’re introduced to a strange cast of island residents all disturbed and suffering some ailment of their own. It’s a sad story with death hanging over every page. It’s almost as if every one of the island residents is grieving in their own way, sadly looking for answers and emotions long passed or forgotten. They all seem to crave some light and happiness on a damp, foggy island. While the story is full of failures, romantic and otherwise, Ida and Midas do find each other and while the romance is far from romantic, it forces both Ida and Midas to focus on the present and enjoy what’s in front of them.

This a debut novel by Shaw and it’s a good show. While I thought some parts were slightly confusing and a few extra words of explanation could have helped in places, it’s a story I couldn’t put down in the end. While I don’t think each story needs a happy ending, I was slightly surprised and pleased by how this one turned out.

In addition to this blog, I also do reviews for The Book Reporter website. The above is a summary of my review, which can be read in full here. The book was provided to me by the publisher for The Book Reporter review.