wodehousing

The second installment in the His Dark Materials series starts off in our own universe, as opposed to the first volume, which began in Lyra Belacqua’s alternate Oxford. Will, a 12 year-old boy that has been taking take of his sick mother since he can remember, finds a window to another world, and is pulled alongside Lyra to new adventures and dangers.

I had a lot of problems with this. I read the first volume about the year ago, and though the universe was fantastic. The idea of deamons and this sort of steampunk enviromnment seem terrific. However, in the second book, all the elements Pullman had introduced were completely forgotten, and he focused more on bashing the church and religion, and what not.

I, I don’t know, this just wasn’t that good. I could definitely tell this was just a way to connect the first and last book, a bridge of sorts. Will just appears and is suddenly super important and relevant, and I just know Lyra will be paired with him sometime in the future. The parts that didn’t directly involve Lyra or Will were a drag to get through, and daemons were more or less left behind. In the first book I always pictured someone dragging a little animal behind. I didn’t get that here.

This was still fun to read, though. The notion of Dust still amuses me, and the angels creep me out, and there were definitely bits that were complete page-turners, but in the end, it’s all a bit a abrupt and falls short of my expectations.

A rabbit epic. One day, Fiver sees his warren getting destroyed and tells his brother, Hazel, about his vision, and despite trying to warn their leader, they are ignored. Alongside a small band of other rabbits, Fiver and Hazel leave all they’ve ever known and travel into the unknown in an unbelievable journey.

So, it’s a 400 page novel about rabbits running around and doing things. Okay, fine, I just got it because rabbits are very cute, but was pleasantly surprised! Granted, the beginning is a bit slow, but after you get into the story it’s all so much fun! The rabbits are anthropomorphized, and have their own language (there’s a glossary at the end), their own myths and stories (which were some of my favourite parts of the novel). It features great world-building, which is one of my favourites things in books.

The ending was, of course, predictable, because this is a kid’s book, and making children cry is probably not what the author intended. I like to think of this book as Lord of the Rings for little girls.

Very enjoyable indeed, and I wish I were British so I could study this at school.

Told entirely from Jack’s perspective, Room is haunting. Jack and his Ma are obviously kept in Room against their will, but Jack is just a little boy who doesn’t know there’s a world outside Room, trees and grass and puppies are just TV. You can feel and see how horrible things must be for Ma, who is only 26, but Jack is a kid who worries about normal kid stuff, like candy and Dora the Explorer. Ma raises Jack as best as she can, teaching her how to read and write, making him run around in Room and giving her vitamins.
Donoghue completely disappears into Jack’s voice, and for the half of the novel that’s spent in Room, it’s amazing how I was completely unable to picture anything outside it. I just couldn’t. There were four walls, and that was it. I couldn’t place it in a house, in a garden, anywhere.
Ma comes up with a plan to get them both out of there alive, but she’s unprepared what comes next. How does she deal with the freedom? How does Jack deal with everything, considering he just learned that Room isn’t all there is? It’s something I had never considered, but it was fantastic to read about. The aftermath is not peaceful, or smooth, and you can feel all of Ma’s despair, even through Jack’s voice, who doesn’t know or understand what’s going on.
Shortlisted for the Booker prize, it’s not something you can space out through more than an afternoon. It is so engrossing you’ll forget to eat for 5 hours straight, like I did. Brilliance.

At 7 Rue de Grenelle, an apartment building filled with upper mid-class families, live two very distinct people. Firstly, Renée Michel, the conciérge, who reads Russian literature, watched Japanese films and is an autodidact. However, Renée pretends to be dumb and illiterate, to shield herself from the buildings’ tenants condemning eyes.
Secondly, Paloma Josse, a precocious 12 year-old girl who masks her intelligence at school so as to not draw attention to herself. Dismayed with her snob family and humanity in general, she decides to commit suicide by taking her mother’s sleeping pills and setting fire to her family’s apartment.
One day, a wealthy Japanese man comes to live in the building, and manages to make Paloma feel accepted and unearths Renée’s true identity. It’s a philosophical novel, thinly disguised as fiction, and it’s really good.
My first impression was, ‘oh, wow, this is such a pretentious book’. But then all these little tidbits I’d had floating around my head, and questions I wanted to ask for years are suddenly there, printed on the pages before me! And it’s wonderful! All these musings about life are beautifully intertwined with the plot and it’s all so good. I bet it’s even more gorgeous in the original French.
The ending was very surprising to me, heartbreaking even, but in a peaceful sort of way. Does that make sense? It’s how I view this book; the calm before a storm that is actually just a slight summer breeze.

Aaaand the massive Austen tome makes a comeback! Emma Woodhouse is a single, young and wealthy girl, who is prone to set up everyone she knows, convinced she is the greatest matchmaker who has ever lived. Of course, hijinks ensue, nothing ever goes according to plan, there are 19th century scandals and bonnets and dinner parties. The usual, and don’t we love it so?
Emma is a very interesting character, mostly because she’s an awful person! She’s incredibly selfish and daft. She changes over the course of the novel, but I still felt like slapping her a bit at first. I love all the characters in this as well: Mr. Knightley is swoon-inducing, Frank Churchill is a bit of a scoundrel, and Emma’s father is so wonderfully satirical.
Having read 3 of Austen’s novels, I definitely think this is the funniest I’ve read; it’s light and frothy and not riddled with disease or anything sordid. It’s just fun and witty, which is what I love the most about Austen.
It did take me quite a while to get through this, and I think it is mostly because I’ve watched the film adaptation about 4 times before reading this. And I don’t even like it that much, Ewan McGregor is a terrible Frank Churchill. It did spoil the twists for me, but it was still a nice read, and satisfied my craving for 19th Century romance.

An Irishman’s account of life in New York. Well, at least that’s what it’s supposed to be. Brendan Behan was a playwright who wrote a play called The Hostage (which he mentions about 500 times) and claims to have a insurmountable love for New York City. But his book is about 50% Irish nostalgia and 40% name dropping with famous celebrities of the 60s.
Okay, so Behan was drunk when he wrote this book (he had to dictate it, such was his state), and everything does admittedly read like a drunken rant, with no connection from one event to the other, skipping about the timeline. It was entertaining, but not very engrossing. I only got the sense that I would not enjoy meeting Mr. Behan, as he seemed quite pretentious and vain.
As for the descriptions of New York, where were they? There were none; only fond recollections of pubs and old hotels. Everything was very strongly linked with drinking.

A Spanish novel, and I don’t think it’s been translated into English. The title could be roughly translated into “The Transparent King’s Story”. I was given this as a gift ages ago, and only now (having a hankering for historical fiction that I could not resist) read it. I cannot believe it took me so long to read this!
Set in a 12th century battlefield, Leola, a teenage peasant, strips a dead knight and puts on his clothes to protect herself against the hordes of soldiers and slaughter. The premise seems quite simple, but Leola soon meets a witch, Nyneve, who follows and leads her into a world she never dreamt of knowing.
The one thing that drew me in right at first was the style and wording: so good! Montero does these really amazing things with words, that make everything so serene and calming, even in the most gruesome of scenes. It reminded me of a way a painter must look at an object, noticing bits and pieces the rest of us wouldn’t. For example, when she wants to say there is a group of soldiers passing by, she’ll just write “there were heavy flashes of silver running in front of her eyes, darkening as they went”. It’s so good! I can’t explain it!
Do you know those scenes where the author will describe exactly how many creases are in a sheet? That doesn’t happen here. It’s not too terribly descriptive, just enough, so that I can imagine freely what everything looks like. The setting isn’t important, the characters are, and it focuses heavily on how they view and world and how events affect their views of it.
There are so many subtle and intricate subplots that when they pop up, they’re not blatant and obvious. For example, the Transparent King’s Story is told by several minor characters throughout, in completely random moments. There’s also the longing for Avalon and King Arthur’s myth too. It’s amazing, just amazing, you she managed to wove this really intricate storyline together.
The characters are fantastic. There’s criticism to the Church, and it’s a bit of a love letter to love itself. Love in all forms, love for God, for friends, for lovers, for things, for animals. It’s all good, really.
And since this is historical fiction, I must nitpick: IT’S SO ACCURATE! It’s really gross sometimes, because things were gross in the 12th century, and no woman wears her hair down, and everyone has bonnets, and just ugh, so many little details that were incredibly well-researched. The author took some liberties with the timelines and characters, but at least she has the decency to tell us about it in the epilogue.
I loved, loved this book! It’s one of the best I’ve read, hands down. It’s kind of up there with Wolf Hall. Have I mentioned it’s really good? It is!

I know what you’re thinking: “Great, Percy Jackson with Egyptian gods.” Since I’ve never read the Percy Jackson series, I can’t vouch for that, but from what I’ve gathered, the writing style is quite similar, and some of the resolutions in the end made me think that there will probably be a crossover between both series some time soon.
The book is split into both siblings’ voices: two chapters for Sadie and two for Carter. They are recording their adventures, and this would be great if it weren’t for the fact that they keep interrupting each other mid-narration to poke fun at one another (in a very humourless way, I might add). At first both characters have very distinct voices, Sadie speaking in British slang. That gets dropped about halfway through, and the author only remembers it again near the ending. Consistency! Also, they keep going back and forth with things they’ve already realized about themselves and each other, like actually caring for one another, and keep getting all surprised when they remember it again.
The Sadie chapters were very hard for me to get through because Sadie is a very annoying girl. She is arrogant, hopeless and obnoxious. She contradicts herself so many times, and I just didn’t like her. Carter was kind of awesome though.
On to the writing itself: I know this is a kids’ book (targeted for boys) and it’s important to have a clear and simple writing. But what Riordan does is patronize readers. It’s like having your hand held during the entire novel. In each chapter some of the events of the previous one are re-told. Again and again ideas and plot points are repeated. It’s like having a neon arrow pointing at major parts of the novel. I don’t think children (and teens who read this) are so thick that won’t remember HUGE events just because a chapter ended. Admittedly, I haven’t read much YA books, but J.K. Rowling is more subtle doing this. And so is Phillip Pullman.
The descriptions are frankly bad. There is too much detail, which I can tell Riordan tried simplifying, and it just falls short. Also, whenever we got to Sadie’s chapters, entire paragraphs were spent describing clothes. Clothes. And there are actually some important bits about wardrobe (magicians don’t wear animal skins so it doesn’t interfere with their magic) but we don’t need to know about caramel-coloured and light and wonderful her crush’s pants are.
And now, for the good bits! Riordan does succeed at doing what he wants to do: take ancient mythology and making it fun for kids. He clearly knows his ancient Egypt and doesn’t make it confusing. He provides all the hieroglyphs and re-tells all important events in the mythology. But then he just decides to make baboons wear basketball jerseys and kill a god with salsa. So, there’s that.
I knew this was going to be a light read, and it is. It’s fun and outlandish, and I know it seems I have a lot of problems with it, but I’m just a nitpick. It’s entertaining, I read it in 3 days or so, so it’s perfect for a rainy day or when you need to recover from a violent novel. Perfect brain fluff.

My first Agatha Christie novel! In it, we follow Detective Poirot’s attempt at solving a murder in a train from Istanbul to Calais, the Orient Express. Things take a strange turn when the man who died turns out to be the culprit of one of the most heinous crimes of the century.
Oh, how I loved this! The writing is not beautiful or enchanting, it’s quite simple and straight-forward, but I was reading this for plot anyway. Everything, from characters to facts to evidence, is laid out very neatly in front of us, but it all gets pieced together in the most impossible way.
I picked this up mostly for the cover (it’s gorgeous), but it’s a really engrossing read. I sped through most of it in an afternoon, and I loved it. The premise seems quite simple, but there’s so much to take into account. I love how Christie organizes everything, and she doesn’t let any of it become confusing.
You know that feeling when you’re watching CSI or some other crime show, and you just know who did because it’s so obvious? Doesn’t happen here! There’s such a long cast of characters that every time one speaks, you immediately change your focus to him or her. It’s brilliant, keeping the reader on the edge of their seat like that!
Also, Poirot is kind of awesome, being all stealthy and super smart like he is. I’m looking forward to read more of her novels.

I thought this was just the Benjamin Button story, but it is actually a collection of short stories, four of them, to be precise.
I didn’t like this. I really didn’t like this. The stories were outlandish and silly, but not entertaining, racism is everywhere, and while I know it was the norm in the 20s, it still makes me uncomfortable reading it. The voice and writing itself was disenchanted and lackluster. The only story I actually liked and thought interesting was the Benjamin Button one. My only complaint was that it was quite short, and in that department, I can see how the movie made it better. It filled all the empty bits to create an even more fun narrative.
I once tried reading Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, when I was about 13. I gave up about 40 pages in. I thought I didn’t like it because I was too young and didn’t understand his writing or something; not the case, apparently. Really didn’t enjoy this experience now, after all.

I’m not a very big Bond movies fan. The action scenes are always very, very long, and start getting bored. The next thing I know, the movie’s over and I’ve spaced out for the better part of 30 minutes.
That said, I actually quite enjoyed this! I didn’t know what to make of it as I started, it was a bit hard getting into it (it was also the first day of school so I was very, very sleepy), but once I got sucked in, it was nearly impossible to put down.
In this quite slim volume, we are introduced to James Bond, spy extraordinaire. This is Fleming’s first book about Bond, and it’s interesting how he introduces the man to us. Everything just falls from the sky, mid-action. Bond’s background isn’t explained, we don’t know how he became an agent, nothing. All that matters is his mission: to win a game of baccarat against Le Chiffre, a Soviet-backed union trader who needs the profit from the game to recover union money he lost on a failed chain of brothels. By defeating him, it is hoped that a Soviet espionage agency called SMERSH will kill him for it.
The descriptions are very straightforward and everything from scenery to characters is described minutely. It has to be, since Bond is an agent who needs to have a keen eye for this sort of thing, and it would be lacking if things were vague. But Fleming’s phrasing is really good, and he managed to explain and narrate a card game of which I had never heard of with much skill. I was actually turning pages to read about a card game! A card game!
However, we have Vesper Lynd, an agent assigned to help Bond in his task. She is useless. Bond says it himself, she is a hazard and annoyance. Also, this book is very sexist. Several times Bond mentions how damn womanly she is, always thinking she can play with the men instead of minding her pots and pans. Riiiight. But, still, she is useless. She has no depth, there is nothing particularly striking about her, she is simply a prop and made to be there looking pretty. She is present during most of the novel, but only gets herself into trouble. She has no intelligent input to offer at any time whatsoever. I believe this is how Fleming (or Bond, can’t be too sure) views all women: go to the kitchen dammit!
Blatant sexism aside, it’s really quite interesting getting into Bond’s mind in a way the books don’t allow us to. Most of the movies are all smoke and mirrors, and in here we see Bond doesn’t have any skills that vaguely resemble superpowers, just a keen eye, a few well-placed friends and a knack for gambling.
All-in-all, an interesting book, very detailed (and gory in parts too) and thought out. A fun, quick read, which left me with a yearning to learn more about the elusive Mr. Bond.

This is the end for Harry Potter. The final book in the series, away from the comfort and security of Hogwarts, where Harry, Ron and Hermione go search for Horcruxes, objects where Voldemort’s soul is being kept.
It is so much different from the rest of the books, there is action, there are too many deaths, unnecessary deaths. Everyone’s greatest flaws come into light, but so do their qualities. This book is emotional, and it doesn’t sugarcoat anything.
I sped through it only once before, forgetting so many of the details and important tidbits. Re-reading this was like reading a whole new book in the series, which I am thankful for. For New Year’s Eve I slept at a friend’s house, sleeping for about 3 hours, feeling exhausted during the first day of the year, but not going to sleep. Oh no, I only decided to put the book down at 3 in the morning, teary-eyed, after reading Snape’s memories. Kudos to J.K. Rowling for making a scene so heart-wrenching.
The epilogue was saccharine, but it really is the only saccharine bit in the series and Harry needed to catch a break eventually. I now quite like this book, despite all the dying and ear-losing.
I’m torn between feeling glad about having finished this little project, so I can stop thinking about the books and move on to different things, and picking up The Philosopher’s Stone and starting all over again. Re-reading the series rekindled not only my love for this universe, but with reading in general. So, thank you Miss Rowling, for creating such an integral part of my childhood. I won’t forget what you’ve taught me.
All-in-all, it’s been a fun ride. The final movie comes out later this year, and I’ll watch it, and weep in a crowded theater, not only because of the sad bits, but it’s the end of an era. I’ve said this before, and I’ll it again: Harry Potter nerd through and through. It has become, not only for me, but for all of us who read it, a way of life and something that defines and unites us. Is it very lame? Yes. Do I care? Of course not. Harry has taught me the meaning of bravery, friendship and trust.
“It’s real for us.”

(bought in Vienna, 2007, read in 2011 for a re-reading project)

Gone is the angsty Harry we came to know in The Order of the Phoenix, and new, brave, popular, and apparently really attractive Harry is here!
The book opens up with a scene where the Minister of Magic visits the Prime-Minister, which I loved, and a scene at Snape’s house with Narcissa and Bellatrix, regarding Voldemort’s plan for little Draco Malfoy. Throughout the year, we get new teachers, a misterious Potions textbook that makes Harry excel at the class, romance and teenage love that isn’t schmoopy, private lessons with Dumbledore and all kinds of foreshadowing. There’s also intrigue, lies, deceit, showing the past and Quidditch!
You know, HBP was never my favourite book in the series. Actually, I think I quite hated it, since when re-reading it this time, I barely remembered some of the more important details. This time around, though, knowing how everything actually went down, I sort of loved it. The ending was especially moving, (aaaand SPOILER) Dumbledore’s funeral made me cry, etc etc.
However, this book feels, in parts, rushed. I don’t know what happened, but some of it felt like a re-hash of previous information. The comic relief is amazing, Dumbledore’s memories are one of my favourite parts and the ending, UGH, THE ENDING.
I know this is probably the rantiest and most disconnected review ever, but HBP left my feelings and mind scattered all over the place. I appreciate much more now, and reading it was bittersweet: it is Harry’s last year at Hogwarts, even if he doesn’t know it, his last semi-peaceful year.
Final words: trust Snape!

Or, as I’ve come to dub it, Harry Potter and the Mammoth Book of Angst. This book, while I love it and think it’s awesome, IS SO LONG. Too long, I think, there is too little to piece together and it takes too much time. And Harry is so pissy about everything, I feel like slapping him.
In it, Harry faces some Dementors in Wisteria Lane and is forced to use magic outside of school, and is forced to face trial. Later, he is picked up by some Aurors and friends of Dumbledore who take him to his godfather’s house, where the Order of the Phoenix has its headquarters. The Order is a movement against Lord Voldemort, and Harry’s parents were a part of the first Order before they got killed. They are now defending the wizarding world against Voldemort’s return the best they can, since the Ministry refuses to accept he’s back.
Meanwhile, there’s hormones everywhere, as Harry takes a fancy for Cho Chang, and there’s a fascist at Hogwarts, Dolores Umbridge, who I hate. I don’t hate people in the Harry Potter series, but Umbridge is just so infuriating! I have a teacher just like her this year, I keep wishing centaurs were real so she’d just GO AWAY. Umbridge is an awful, awful person, but a brilliant character.
Umbridge coming along only accentuates Harry’s angst towards everything: being left with the Dursleys with no news all summer, no one telling him anything (actually, if Dumbledore had explained everything to him properly, things would have been so much easier, really.), not being able to take part in the order, teen hormones about the place, Voldemort slowly trickling into his brain, and generally just being fifteen years old. Being fifteen is really, really bad. I just went through it 2 years ago, and teenagers are just such stupid people. We think we know everything! We don’t listen! We sulk! We yell at our parents for asking how school went! Since Harry has no parents to yell at, he yells at Ron and Hermione, which are the closest thing Harry has to a family.
All in all, I do like this book, since there’s a lot school life (which I love), but not one of my favourites. It’s very long, and not much of it is necessary. It made me realize that if Harry listened more to Hermione, his life would be a lot easier. The ending is quite sad, because we get so little of Sirius and then just made me think of what happens to Lupin in the last book. Which made me think of the twins escaping Hogwarts, which is awesome, but then made me think about Fred. GOD.
To tell the truth, I’m very eager to finish re-reading the Harry Potter series. For one, I know my heart is going to get all broken in the last book, and there’ll be a lot of crying and such. I’m almost annoyed by it (I know! The horror!) and just wanting to finish this, because I cannot stop thinking about Harry Potter! I thought this ended with the release of Deathly Hallows, but the foreshadowing is just so blatant when re-reading, that I keep hoping the deaths and bits I don’t like have changed in the end, and then it doesn’t, and it makes me sad.
Two more books to go!

In Harry’s fourth year the Triwizard Tournament is held at Hogwarts, and Harry (despite being underage) is selected to compete, because of course he does. Then all manners of things happen, and shit gets real when he almost gets killed by Lord Voldemort and his impressive comeback.
I don’t know if you’ve noticed that my copy of this book is completely tattered. This is my favourite book in the series, mostly because I finally understood how vast the wizarding world is, much like Harry did. Also, the Triwizard tournament is very, very awesome, and I love all the tasks and such. However, the boys are quite horrible to Hermione, and I really feel for her. And Dobby! I almost forgot Dobby! He’s back, working at Hogwarts, being awesome. I love all the little kitchen scenes with him. They’re just brilliant.
Everything also takes a much, much more serious turn, and I think this is the moment where Harry, and everyone who read this book for the first time as a kid, has to grow up. First off, Cedric dies, and then there’s the whole threat of Voldemort which suddenly becomes real and tangible. The ending is also great in the way that it sets up the next book so beautifully. It really is my favourite, from the Moody and Crouch mystery, the Quidditch Cup, the Dark Side making an appearance, the Tournament to everyone’s hormones flailing wildly about the place. It’s fun watching Ron and Harry stutter.
On a final note, I started watching the movie a couple of days ago, AND I CANNOT DO IT. The story was demolished, really. And the acting is so bad, but it was good the previous movie, so I don’t get how that was possible. The only movie I actually enjoy in the HP franchise is the Prisoner of Azkaban (yes, even with no Marauders explanation) and the first part of Deathly Hallows. To me, GoF is the worst.
Reading this also made me feel sad for Cedric, and then I remembered he’s living happily in Forks with his freakish mutant baby. Actually, death would probably be a better fate than that, but oh well.

A dangerous wizard named Sirius Black, who betrayed Harry’s parents, managed to escape from Azkaban and is on the loose, trying to find Harry Potter. Harry will have yet another year filled with adventures and danger, because the poor bloke can never catch a break.
I just realized how different this book is, and it is such a turning point. Up to now, the Trio’s attitude to everything that came their way was a sort of indifference, and Harry always managed to face things on his own, more or less. The air is a lot heavier here, on account of Dementors, but also because there are a lot more adult figures in this book, who take much bigger roles than Harry can imagine. Professor Lupin plays a big part in Harry’s life, and it’s the first time we see adults from Hogwarts actively failing Harry. He actually says that he was devastated when he realized Dumbledore could not fix everything.
There’s a moment you can pinpoint here, where the books take a much more mature turn, and everything just gets so much darker. The moment where everyone is in the Shrieking Shack and everything just comes together. Harry, Ron and Hermione are caught in the middle of something that is much more complex than they think, and Harry needs to grow up and be the bigger man in a matter of seconds.
Plot twists aside, and those really surprised me when I read this for the first time, the Hogwarts atmosphere is amazing here. Hogsmeade, Quidditch matches, real Defense Against the Dark Arts Classes, and new teachers! I absolutely love Lupin, and Trelawney is crazy in a nice way, and then there’s the Marauders, and oh! I just love the Marauders, it’s amazing what J.K. created here. My heart is full of love for this book, it really is.
There’s also Draco Malfoy, who I love, but is such an annoying little twerp here. He manages to almost get Hagrid fired, it’s so petty of him. I always had a soft spot for Draco since Half-Blood Prince, but in this book, I feel like going all Hermione on him and punching him the face. Same goes for Snape, who can’t put a stupid prank behind him, and yes, I know there’s the Lily thing, but come on. Seriously, you’re like 40, get over it.
This book is a favourite for many, and I can definitely see why. It’s a turning point, both for the seriousness of the plot, and it matures characters greatly. (I’m a sucker for the Marauders, have I mentioned that?)