Personal Book

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.

Play along: Grab your current read; Open to a random page; Share two teaser sentences from that page; Share the title and author so that other participants know what you’re reading.

I started A Game of Thrones by George RR Martin last week, and thanks to a cold that won’t go away, I’m still reading it.  That, however, is not a bad thing because I am so in love with this book!

“His claim is the true one, he is known for his prowess as a battle commander, and he is utterly without mercy.  There is no creature on earth half so terrifying as a truly just man.” (589 of 787 on Nook)

Today’s Book — A Game of Thrones

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I’m reading A Game of Thrones by George RR Martin and let me say right here — it’s wonderful.  You should read it too.  If you love fantasy, it’s for you.  If you love great characters, it’s for you.  If you love a good story, it’s for you.

Of course, I’m only on page 252 of 787 so it’s possible that my thoughts will change but I doubt it.  A cold has made it nearly impossible to read the last few days as my addled brain hasn’t been able to focus (so please ignore my rambling this morning and any subsequent typos which I’m sure will occur) but each time I pick up the book, I don’t want to put it down.   The fact that I’m taking cold medicine and keep falling asleep is what makes me put it down.

The world created by Martin is fantastic.  Winter and darkness loom over everything and while summer is still warming the world at this point in the book, you know it’s coming and it seems few, especially the king, are prepared for it.  Did I mention there are dragons too? What good fantasy wouldn’t have dragons?  So far, they’re only legend, but I have a feeling some may find a place in the story.  All right, so I googled the book to find out.  🙂  I like spoilers.

There was one thing that worried me about this book early on — the sheer number of characters.  Each chapter is told from the perspective of one person and a few chapters in I regretted the fact that I wasn’t taking notes.  Thankfully, that worry has passed.  Yes, there are a lot of characters in this book but you soon become able to distinguish each one as they’re drawn so carefully.  It’s an interesting way of telling this story, and while I wasn’t sure about it in the beginning, I have to say it’s grown on me.

I had more I wanted to talk about but the brain is craving a rest.  Enjoy Thursday.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

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Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

By JK Rowling

Scholastic

ISBN: 0-439-35806-X

4 stars

It’s taking me longer than I thought to finish my Harry Potter re-read this year but that’s all right, I’m in no hurry.  Let’s face it; it’s not as if I don’t know the story. 🙂  In all honesty, I was hoping to re-read the entire series before seeing the latest movie but that’s not going to happen so now I’m just enjoying the story.

The short re-cap: Harry is waiting patiently to return to Hogwarts when he’s attacked by dementors, almost gets expelled for performing underage magic in front of a muggle, gets off by a slim margin, heads back to Hogwarts to find out that the Ministry of Magic is slowing doing its best to take over the school.  And there’s that small little matter of Voldermort who would like to see him dead.

As always, spoilers below.  You’ve been forewarned.

The Order of the Phoenix, I hate to admit, is not my favorite book in the series.  Not to say it isn’t good but I forgot just how moody and cranky everyone is in this installment.  I can’t blame either Harry (who’s got a price on his head and feels everyone is lying to him, which in some ways they are) or Sirius (who’s still in hiding and unable to do anything to help the cause or Harry) for their dark moods but there is only so much male PMS I can take.  However, the Weasley twins stepped up and provided enough lightness to make me remember why I fell in love with the series — the magic these two manage is wonderfully silly, and so disgusting, that it makes me want to procure a flyer and order a few of their concoctions.  Umbridge is so mean, annoying, and sniveling that I somehow found myself enjoying her character this time around.  I won’t say like because that would go too far but her attitude brings out some wonderful qualities in others characters such as Professor McGonagall who goes to great means to control her temper.  Snape.  I didn’t plan on mentioning him but he does play a critical role in Harry’s fifth year and his actions only keep me securely on the hate Snape bandwagon.  I’m so very done with him, except I’m not really and I have two more books to fully loathe him, which I plan to do.

In some ways, I feel as though there is too much going on in this book.  It’s long, and that’s not a bad thing because we do get to know a few characters better — Luna and Ginny who are among my favorites — so I don’t want to point to that as the main reason for my lack of overflowing love.  So many sub-plots show up here and it’s a major turning point in the tome.  The danger is much more palpable in this one than the proceeding books and it carries on with the sadness that made its way into the series when Cedric was killed by Voldermort.  But Harry’s attitude is sometimes too much for me.  I do have to admit that I did enjoy the fight at the Ministry of Magic though.  The rooms in the Department of Mysteries are so fascinating.

Well, on to hunting horcruxes.

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.

Play along: Grab your current read; Open to a random page; Share two teaser sentences from that page; Share the title and author so that other participants know what you’re reading.

I started A Game of Thrones by George RR Martin a few days ago.  I haven’t had the chance to read much, but what little I’ve read, is fantastic.  Let me share…

“Bran pulled himself up, climbed over the gargoyle, crawled out onto the roof.  This was the easy way.  He moved across the roof to the next gargoyle, right above the window of the room where they were talking.” (86 of 787 on Nook)

Today’s Book

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I’ve been reading The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann.  The book is aptly named considering Grann spends almost the entire book talking about Percy Fawcett’s (an Amazonian explorer that disappeared) dogged need to constantly be trekking through the jungle searching for a city that almost no one but him believes exists.  And what can I say, it’s fascinating.

I’m coming to the part where Grann heads into to the Amazon to follow Percy’s last route and it’s interesting to see how he tempers his own obsession.  As others before him that have gone into the jungle to search for Fawcett, he too finds himself following any hint of information.  He even makes several trips to England and Brazil before going into the Amazon to read Fawcett’s papers and speak with family members in the hope of gleaming something useful for his own trip.

Grann’s writing is straightforward — he is a journalist — so there’s not a lot of flowery language which fits his topic well.  He does add some vivid descriptions of what a jungle disease can and will do to human flesh, and if you’re like me and find yourself at this point while eating lunch, it will make you want to stop eating but not stop reading.  He’s amusing as well especially when he talks about his shopping excursion to a Manhattan camping and hiking store to buy supplies.

This is starting to sound a lot like a review so that is all this morning.  Happy reading.

The House on Durrow Street

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The House on Durrow Street

By Galen Beckett

Ballantine Books

eISBN:978-0-345-52271-9

3 stars

The House on Durrow Street is the sequel to The Magicians & Mrs. Quent.  My review of The Magicians & Mrs. Quent is here if you’re interested in some thoughts on the first book.

After saving Altania from evil, Ivy Quent is living happily with her two sisters and her new husband in her father’s old house.  In the midst of restoring the house to its former glory, many odd things are found, but knowing her father was a magician, none of these things faze the rather unflappable Ivy.  Soon, Ivy and Mr. Quent are swept into the high circles of Altania society, Ivy especially attending party after party.  Nothing seems amiss in her world until she begins to experience a strange calling from the trees and finds out that the magic her father used to safeguard the house may not be as strong as she once thought.

Two things about these books: 1.) I like the world.  It’s sort of an alternative Edwardian England with magic and it’s very appealing.  And 2.) Ivy is a very likable character.  Two more things about these books: 1.) Ivy somehow got a bit dense after she got married; and 2.) I still felt as if I was reading different books only tangentially tied together by a few characters that crossed paths every once in a while.  I had this same complaint about the first book and that was not alleviated with the second.  There are characters and sub-plots in this book that go nowhere and seem to have no ties to the ending.  I do like these other characters and story lines and I especially liked the different look at the lives of those in Altania but having characters meet up in a bar doesn’t make the stories mesh.  And, it moves slow.  Very slow.  In The Magicians & Mrs. Quent, I felt like the pace moved faster but in The House on Durrow Street I kept waiting for something to happen and it doesn’t until 550 pages in to the 602 page book.

I’m a sucker for a series (probably something I don’t have to state if you’ve been reading my reviews) but I’m not sure about this one.  I so wanted to love it because I really like the world built by Beckett but I don’t feel as if the story is going anywhere.  For me, the world can’t be everything and I think that’s the way I feel about this one.  I still need things to happen and they don’t seem to be.  Then again, maybe it’s me so feel free to ignore at will.

A third book in the series is planned — The Master of Heathcrest Hall.  While I wasn’t so enthralled with the first two, something still nags at me and tells me I’ll be reading the third wondering what’s going to happen with Altania even if I’m not sure that I’m totally invested anymore.  Odd?  No.  Call me a book addict is all.

Teaser Tuesdays

/ justbookreading / 9 Comments

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.

Play along: Grab your current read; Open to a random page; Share two teaser sentences from that page; Share the title and author so that other participants know what you’re reading.

Having finally finished Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix last night, I’m happy to be starting The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann.  Let’s start with the preface shall we.

“I pulled the map from my back pocket.  It was wet and crumpled, the lines I had traced to highlight my route now faded.” (page 6 of 325 on Nook)

Teaser Tuesdays

/ justbookreading / 17 Comments

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.

Play along: Grab your current read; Open to a random page; Share two teaser sentences from that page; Share the title and author so that other participants know what you’re reading.

My teaser today comes from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

“Harry had been looking forward to the weekend trip into Hogsmeade, but there was one thing worrying him.  Sirius had maintained a stony silence since he had appeared in the fire at the beginning of September; Harry knew they had made him angry by saying that they did not want him to come — but he still worried from time to time that Sirius might throw caution to the winds and turn up anyway.” (332-333)