The Book Thief -- Markus Zusak

     This book was nothing like I expected. I was under the impression that it was a book about a girl who stole books to keep them from being destroyed by the Nazis. I suppose that’s what I deserve for trusting movie trailers for book summaries. What this book was actually about is the childhood/teenager hood of a girl living with her foster parents in Nazi Germany. It is also narrated by Death. That right there should have told me this book wasn’t going to end well. As a matter of fact, within the first few paragraphs the reader is warned that it doesn’t end well.

     The story starts with Liesel witnessing the death of her younger brother on the train to her new home. The first book she steals (despite being unable to read) is a handbook on grave digging from the cemetery to remember her brother by. Then begins the introduction into her new life; her foster mother, who swears to express love; her foster father, who loves painting, playing the accordion, and always pays his debts; her best friend, Rudy, who is a local legend for his pranks and his bad luck. Her family eventually takes in and hides a Jewish man to repay her father’s debt to the Jewish man’s family. After a few years, things start to go all wrong because Germany isn’t doing too well in the war. The Jewish man leaves and is captured, Liesel’s father upsets the some local higher ups and is conscripted, food is hard to come by, and air raids happen quite often. Eventually the war comes to an end and inevitably no one comes through unscathed. Except for an afterward that takes place at the end of Liesel’s life, there is almost no information about what happens after the war.

     I still haven’t decided if I like this book or not. Aside from my initial misunderstanding about the subject, the narration of Death was obnoxious. Much of what he provided was unnecessary translations or weird tidbits of info that had nothing to do with the story. My biggest objection to the narration was that Death kept skipping ahead and hinting at the ending. It was almost as if the author could not think of any other way to provide information or wanted some kind of gimmick to grab the readers attention and didn’t know what to do with it once he found it. The story was well written and moving but the inclusion of Death and using German to hide swear words was so disruptive to the rhythm of the tale that it was hard to be fully immersed at times. I also feel there should have been more between the end of the last chapter and the afterward. The afterward takes place after Liesel had a long full life of marriage, adventure, kids, and grandkids but never explains how she meets any of these people or has any of the adventures. If the author was going to skip 60 or more years of her life, he shouldn’t have put so much emphasis on the years between the last chapter and the end of her life. If you are able to ignore some of these issues, it really is a beautiful story. Keep a box of tissues nearby if you are a crying type of reader because the end will rip your heart and stomp on it. 

Four & Twenty Blackbirds – Mercedes Lackey

Now I reviewed the other books in this series. I never could find a copy of this book but I had some luck. Some friends of mine bought a boxful of books and this one was in it. Fortunately, they were kind enough to lend it to me so I finally got to read it. 

From the summary on the back of the book: “...Tal Rufen is just a simple constable. But he really cares about his job, and when one of these murder/suicides happens on his beat he becomes obsessed. His superiors don't care -- the victims will never be missed, and their murderers are already justly dead. But every instinct Tal Rufen has cries out that he has seen only one small piece of a bigger and much nastier puzzle” That is all I can really say about the book’s plot without giving everything away. As any genre of book, this one leaves much to be desired. The mystery isn’t much of a mystery if you’ve read The Lark and the Wren (the first book in the series). I figured out who the murderer was in the first two chapters. As fantasy, there isn’t much magic or other races. The only spell that is actually performed and not just talked about is by the murderer to control the victim. There is a Haspur, the race of bird-men from previous books but his scenes are few and far between and while critical to the story, he is treated more like a plot device than an actual character. As a book belonging to a series about musicians, there are only the vaguest references to the Free Bards or even the Bardic Guild and characters from other books.

I had hoped that, like The Lark and The Wren, the book would change directions; the first half being Rune trying to qualify for the Bardic guild and the second half being her adventures with the free bards. I figured if it was so obvious who the murderer was within the first few chapters, then the second half of this more than 400 page book would have to do with the budding romance/crisis of faith that the Arch Bishop started having because of Tal Rufen or the building of the school they talked about several times or any of the multitude of things mentioned in what turned out to be throwaway conversations that might as well never have happened. They recapped the murders and the trail Rufen follows to Kingsford, four times. Four times! They have the exact same conversation with three different individuals and then they have a group session where they throw out the same ideas they had 50 pages ago. All in all, if this book had been half the length, it would have been an engaging story. As it stands, it was a whole bunch of repetition. It was worth reading once but I doubt I’ll ever feel the need to read it again. 

Ready Player One

  Ready Player One is set about 30 years in the future. The world has only gotten worse from the problems we’ve seen today except for one thing: the OASIS, an immense 3-D virtual reality world created by James Halliday and his partner. OASIS has anything anyone could want, it’s the internet but it feels real. People run businesses, get married to people they never meet in real life, in-game money is a far more stable currency than any type that is government issued. Then, James Halliday dies. In his will, he reveals that his entire fortune, $240 Billion, will be given to whoever can find and solve 3 puzzles he has hidden in the vast world of OASIS. Five years later, people are still searching for the answer to the first clue to find the first puzzle. James Halliday was obsessed with the 80s (when he grew up)  so 80s culture has become hugely popular in an attempt to find all this money. The real action begins when a high school kid discovers the location of the first puzzle. . There’s murder, intrigue, feats of derring-do in the real world as well as the virtual one, romance, friendship, and games. What more could you want in a book?

  This book is action packed and terribly fun to read if you have even a little knowledge of 80s pop or geek/nerd/gaming culture. There are references to every kind of genre you could wish in this book. I’ve seen seriously mixed reviews for this book. People either love it or hate it. The only problem is the people who hate give a multitude of reasons and the people who love it just say “OMG this book was great, go read it for yourself.” I loved this book. The first time I read it, I finished it in one sitting and wanted to start over again immediately. The characters are memorable; the story is engrossing; the setting and premise are fascinating. I will admit to being a huge geek and partly obsessed with some of the same things that the creator of OASIS contest loved. Anyone who is a fan of geek/dork/nerd culture will like this book just for the references. If you want a decent adventure in a dystopian future that isn’t too distant from now, definitely pick up this book and soon. 

Strip Mauled edited by Esther Friesner

Well, it turns out I was taken out commission by my twin nemeses of Bronchitis and Bugs for the last couple of months. Now that I'm feeling better and back on my feet, it's time to review all the books I read while I was recuperating. 

Strip Mauled Edited by Esther Friesner

     This anthology is yet another in a series of pun related short stories from this author/editor. This one was great because lately most fantasy stories have been vampire or dystopian flavored. Not these. These are all concentrated on urban or suburban werewolves. I originally picked up this book because I’m a fan of the Chicks in Chainmail series from the late 90’s and early 2000’s. The stories are clever and designed to keep you reading.

     There were a few of them that were kind of not in sync with the rest, such as “That Time of the Month” about hillbilly wolves moving to the suburbs and being chased out by the main character. The main character of that one was way too focused on “removing” people that threatened her “peaceful” existence. That sentence should probably read “murdering people that might expose the fact she was a werewolf“ to be closer to the truth. The writer tended to repeat things that didn't need repeating. Calling the antagonists “stupid hicks” and “dumb hicks” every other sentence gets extremely boring after a couple of paragraphs. There were quite a few gems in this anthology though. “The Fish Story” about a reporter who fights against a kelpie with help of her friend/love interest and her cousin or “Imaginary Friend” about a cop who is a werewolf with a pixie sidekick that no one else believes exists are awesome; I could see a whole book being written about their adventures. The clever one shots about the Cub Scout pack that consisted of kid werewolves and the home owners association for supernatural creatures were great but the best story of all had to be the Teleplay written about an alternate Sesame Street. It was the only traditional werewolf attack story but it was brilliant. Everything you've ever wondered about Sesame Street was mentioned: the Bert and Ernie characters having an unconventional relationship, Big Bird hating Elmo for stealing the spotlight, Elmo being crazy and not too bright. I had little to no problem figuring out which characters were supposed to be their Sesame Street counterparts. The reactions to the werewolf attack were spot on; the attitudes towards each other were believable and hilarious. It was definitely the best story to end the book with.

    I am glad I picked up this book. It was definitely a good read and if you can find it I heartily recommend it to anyone looking for a few laughs at the end of a long day.  

If anyone has any questions, comments, or book suggestions, leave me a comment and let me know.

~Wolfe

Confessions of a Prairie Bitch: How I Survived Nellie Oleson and Learned to Love Being Hated – Alison Arngrim

     I picked this book out of the library on a whim. I’m always on the lookout for a good autobiography and this one definitely qualifies as that. Alison Arngrim played Nellie Oleson on the television series Little House on the Prairie. Nellie Oleson as fans may remember was a spoiled selfish child, the great nemesis of the show’s main character Laura Ingalls. Over the 7 year span of the show, fans watched as Nellie, Laura, Mary, and the rest of the cast grew up. Being nosy and not content to leave it at that, I had to check out this book to go along with my review of the first five Little House on the Prairie books.

     The book starts out, where most autobiographies do, with a bit of background about Alison Arngrim’s family. Originally from Canada, both her parents were in show biz. Her mom played a slew of cartoon characters and happily preformed for Alison’s school friends whenever she was asked. Her father was a talent manager, not many of his clients were mentioned except for Liberace but I gather he was moderately successful. Her older brother was in television as a child but as he reached his teenage years was deemed too old and rebellious to get many or any jobs. As a result of her parents’ busy schedules, Alison was left home much of the time with her brother who took his frustrations out on his little sister in the form of beatings and, later, rapes and molestation. She figured working would get her out of the house and away from the abuse so she started going to auditions and finally landed the gig as Nellie Oleson. From there, she made friends with some of the other cast members and was out from under the thumb of her brother and his friends. There is more gossip and behind the scenes info about all the cast and goings on until the show ended. There are also quite a few stories about her friendships with various cast members after the show ended. The last part of the book dealt with her future after the show. How she dealt with the repercussions of her abuse and the death of her best friend from AIDs, was perhaps the most moving part of the book. She has used her fame to become a great advocate against child abuse and for helping AIDs patients.

     I really enjoyed reading this book. There was a perfect mixture of humor and drama. I always like to hear about stars doing well or people actually coping with their demons instead of using them as an excuse for acting like a jerk. From what I’ve read about other biographies about the stars of the same show, I’m not sure I’ll look into more of them. If I do, you’ll be the first to know. More reviews, coming soon.

~Wolfe

Little House on the Prairie series – Laura Ingalls Wilder

Barnes and Nobles is not my favorite place to buy books. However, they have these lovely leather bound sets of classics that I absolutely adore. When I was there last, I picked up the Little House on the Prairie: the first five novels collection. I figured I’d do all five in one review because, let’s be honest, the first book is less than 150 pages and a children's book. It’s a little hard to write a review that would be entertaining with that little bit to work with. The first book in this series Little House in the Big Woods is actually the Wisconsin book from the "most famous book set in the state" list.

I first started reading these books when I was 10 or so and I wanted to know how I would feel about them as an adult. I still really enjoyed reading this series. I can definitely sympathize with the adults now. In Little House in the Big Woods, the love expressed between all the family while the were having their dance demonstrates nicely that even when you may not see people that often, you’re still family. In Little House on the Prairie, the decision to move because “there’s too many people” is quite the way I feel about our current home some days. Having to abandon their farm that they worked so hard on must have been terrible but Charles, the father, was so accepting. His “we have all the time in the world to get it right” attitude is something more people need to find. On the Banks of Plum Creek was the family’s first semi-successful attempt at staying in one place and it goes disastrously wrong. Blizzards and plagues of grasshoppers pretty much destroy their crops and any hopes of making a living so Pa has to find work as a farm laborer. He’s gone for long stretches of time while the girls grow up and after a couple years and paying off their debts they move on to the next book. Also seeing how the “richer” farmers lived in New England in Farmer Boy versus the struggles of the more adventurous settler farmers was an eye opener. Makes you wonder why people would give up that kind of life to make their fortune but it takes all types.

By the Shores of Silver Lake intrigued me the most as an adult. It takes place a few years after the previous book ends and you begin to see Laura’s and Mary’s adult personalities take shape. The family moves to a railroad building town intending to stake a claim after the railroad has been built. At this time however the town is still a very rough place. The girls aren’t allowed to wander far from home and they don’t understand why which causes some rebelliousness. As a kid from a generally safe 21^st century neighborhood, I never understood why they couldn’t just go where they wanted. As an adult with a better sense of what those places were like, I understand completely and feel sorry for their poor mothers. In the end, the railroad moves on and the Ingalls stake their claim and neighbors start moving in. 

News

     Anyone who has been reading this blog may have noticed that I haven’t posted in a couple of weeks. There is a decent reason for this, I have run out of reviews. I pre-wrote a bunch of the reviews and have been posting them week by week. I’ve already started on a new batch and have a half dozen in the editing stage. That being said, I have also started on a new reading project. There isn’t going to be a time line on this one since I have to rely on the library for access to these books. I recently found a list that supposedly contains the most well known books set in every state. I have no idea how they chose the books or what makes them the most well known. I wish I did since I have never heard of half of these books. I’ve already finished reading eight of them and even have a review for one written. Going to find these books at the library has already paid off since I keep finding more things I’m looking for or that just manage to catch my attention. Beside my new project and writing, everything else is going well. My job is awesome, my health is good, and I have lots to keep busy with. Sadly my companion has a case of “I don’t know where to start” and won’t give me any reviews. I’ll keep working on him along with the writing. Now it’s back to the editing program for me.

Here is the link to the reading project: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/334181234824273394/

-Wolfe