BOOK: Rapunzel's Revenge by Shannon and Dean Hale

Rapunzel's Revenge by Shannon and Dean Hale, 144 pages
graphic novel illustrated by Dean Hale

genre challenge: western; herding cats

What a fabulous book! Shannon Hale does a wonderful job of rewriting fairy tales (The Goose Girl, The Princess Academy, The Book of a Thousand Days) and she continues here with the more well known Rapunzel. But what if Rapunzel lived in the American west? And her long hair could be used like a lasso? Exactly, a pretty awesome idea and very well executed. There are some other fairy tales thrown in here for the reader to recognize. I really liked the idea of making this set in the west, with horse stealing, mining, wanted posters, wild coyotes, and ghost towns.

The illustrations by Nathan Hale are also fabulous. I found them very colourful, and crisp, and textured. Rapunzel's red hair ropes stand out perfectly. I also liked how Rapunzel was brave and smart - this was no maiden in distress waiting to be saved by the prince. She takes charge and knows what she has to do.

My only quibble was a line on page 85, where Rapunzel teases Jack, her companion on the run, with, "Adorable, huh? Pretty fruity talk for an outlaw." In school, we try to discourage insults like fruit, or gay because it carries so much more than just that word, and is not inclusive. There must have been another word to use in that situation. But other than that, I very much enjoyed this telling of Rapunzel, both the western telling, and the beautiful illustrations.

BOOK: Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen

Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen, 290 pages

Southern Reading Challenge, Once Upon a Time III, herding cats

What led you to pick up this book?
I've seen it at the library for months, on the popular fiction shelf; it was recommended by jenny for the herding cats challenge; and it was time to read a southern book.

Summarize the plot, but don't give away the ending!
The estranged Waverley sisters of North Carolina are magical with an apple tree in the back yard. Each has a gift - one with food, one with hair, and are trying to learn to love.

What did you like most about the book?
It was very charming, and the magic worked in ways that I don't usually get, but it was so gentle and seemed natural.
The men were mostly perfect, and the southern local flavor was all over it.
I liked how the families in the town had traits, that everyone in the town knows about, and it is just understood. Like one family where the men marry older women. It's true in small towns with families that have been around for ages.

What did you like least?
Can't think of much. I'd give it a 4.5/5.

What did you think of the main character?
I really liked the sisters, Claire and Sydney, each making huge changes in their life and trying to begin a new relationship.

Any other particularly interesting characters?
I loved Evanelle, the old aunt whose gift was to give people something they would need. She never knew why they needed it, but she had to give it to them.

Share a quote from the book:
She was so southern that she cried tears that came straight from Mississippi, and she always smelled faintly of cottonwood and peaches.

You are who you are, whether you like it or not, so why not like it?

Some things couldn't be explained. Some things could. Sometimes you liked the explanation. Sometimes you didn't. that's when you called it myth.

Share a favorite scene from the book.
There was a pretty steamy scene under the apple tree, and I liked the scene with Sydney's high school sweetheart and his wife as they come to grips with Sydney's return.

What about the ending?
A little perfect but it matched the tone of the book and I would have been disappointed with any other ending.

Which of your readers are most likely to enjoy this book? Why?

most of these people liked it

also reviewed by : tinylittlelibrarian,
marg at reading adventures,
les at lesley's book nook,
lori at shetreadssoftly,
melanie the indextrious reader,
terri at reading,writing, and retirement
stephanie at confessions of a bookaholic
icedream reading in appalachia
maggie at maggie reads

BOOK: The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa

The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa, 180 pages
translated by Stephen Snyder

herding cats; What's in a Name? profession; Orbis Terrarum: Japan; published in 2009

A never named housekeeper comes to work for a never named math professor. The professor had a head injury in a car accident many years before and only has eighty minutes of short term memory. The housekeeper and her son, nicknamed Root for his flat headed resemblance to the square root sign, form a little family with the professor.

This was a delightful little novel about families and what makes them, about being educated and life long learning, and a bit about math and baseball. I'm sure not everyone finds math a selling point as a topic, but I loved it. The professor falls back on math when he doesn't know what to do or say as it is the one area of his life that he knows, that he has some control over. Plus, we learn a little bit about prime numbers and perfect numbers and solving problems.

Librarything predicted I would love it, and it was bang on. Keep an eye out, I bought it at Costco, so it must have been mass published recently.

also reviewed by thoughts of joy, 3M at onemorecchapter,

BOOK: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver, 352 pages

Celebrate the Author; Herding Cats; Dewey Books

Barbara Kingsolver, author of The Poisonwood Bible, and her family decide to spend a year eating only food from their area, mostly on the farm they move to. This book is the chronicle of their journey, and was a real family affair - daughter Camille adds recipes and short essays to the end of chapters and husband Steven Hopp adds some more technical and fact-driven sections. I was worried that this book would make me feel guilty for every banana that I eat, or every package of granola bars I buy. And while I certainly will think twice about the food that comes into my house, Kingsolver keeps the story low-key and simply her families journey. She doesn't preach and the book is a gradual awareness of the fuel necessary to bring me watermelon in April and lemons whenever I want them.

I think more people are aware and tend to eat local that live in more rural areas. If I lived in the city, there would be less options for me to get my food, but the rural area I live in, and the suburban lot I live on, provides me with access to local and fresh food. And in some ways, we do eat by the season, when we can. We gorge ourselves on strawberries when they are ripe here, and freeze bags for later in the season. We plant a garden and live on our tomatoes and green beans and peas in the summer. My inlaws plant a sustaining garden, and always have, and provide as many vegetables and apples and raspberries as we, and their neighbours want. So I spent much of the book thinking - I try to do a lot of this, just on a very small scale.

The plight of the local farmer has been a topical issue in my province, and a farmer group has opened up a small store with local products, including a meat market. It's mostly root vegetables this time of year that are local, and they bring in some vegetables, but lots of meat and cheese and dried herbs and beans. I won't be growing turkeys and gathering eggs from chickens anytime soon, but buying most of my meat from these 'neighbour farmers' is the best I'll be able to do in this regard.

Kingsolver and her family tried an extreme situation for a year, and she doesn't advocate that everyone do this. They prepared for several years to be able to live on their land, and it wasn't an impulsive decision. Her point was to see how much they relied on food that had travelled far distances. Awareness and thinking about the food we eat is the first step. Great book, with some neat looking recipes to try.

BOOK: Skellig by David Almond

Skellig by David Almond, 182 pages

young adult challenge; herding cats

Slim little book that I first read about in Shakespeare Wrote For Money, by Nick Hornby. Rather mystical, with angels and a mysterious man living in the garage. Michael, feeling left out and worried about his sick baby sister, makes a new friend, Mina, and they have great faith and trust in the creature they find in the garage. Eleven year olds are still young enough to just accept what they see, and yet old enough to deal with grown up issues too.

Not the book for you if you like traditional plots, or stories fully explained at the end, but if you believe in miracles, or have faith in the characters, and are able to just 'be' a part of the story, this one might work for you. My nine year old daughter was intrigued by the owls on the cover and is planning to read it. I'll add her thoughts if she gets through it.

other reviews:
where troubles melt like lemon drops
Valentina’s Room
Working Title

CHALLENGE: Herding Cats II: Attack of the Hairballs

Follow the links to renay's place to get more detailed information. She really is herding cats with this one - last year I think there were over 300 600 books on the reading list.

Here are the rules Herding Cats II (April 1st, 2009 - December 31st, 2009):

1. Make a list of five books you love. Directions:

• Five. I'm as serious as a beached whale.
• All titles must be books you've read in 2007, 2008 or 2009.
• Please don't list a series; just the first book. If you really want to list a book in the middle of a series, you can, but it has to be that specific book.
• Feel free to share why you're putting the book on your list, because I am nosy.

2. Post your list:

• in your own journal, in the comments here, whatever is fine. Share the list here.
• Lists should be public (no locked entries, no logging in to view).

3. Browse the new book list. Stay a while. Read a few (eta: if you want; not even reading is required this time around if you don't have time to commit to a new challenge but still want to share your favorites).

4. If you review your books, you can share the reviews. You know, if you want. No pressure. Definitely not.

I did this challenge last year, but we were allowed to list 10 books. I guess with the economy the way it is, everything is cut back. Even the reading requirements are less, as reading is actually optional this year. I know once I see that big fat juicy list of books I won't be able to resist, but I'll save my decision of how many books I want to read until later. Here's a list of books I'd recommend to read as I really enjoyed each one in the past reading year, and each is very different, representing my eclectic reading style.

1. Crow Lake - Mary Lawson
Canadian novel about growing up and perspective and disappointing family and bleak Canadian landscape.

2. The Blinding Absense of Light - Ben Tahar Jalloun
Imagine being in a hole in the ground in Morocco for a couple of years - if it doesn't kill you, you will leave with a heightened spiritual awareness.

3. Life As We Knew It - Susan Beth Pfeffer
When the moon is struck by an asteroid, the Earth's weather patterns are thrown way out of whack, and this young adult book follows one family's strugle to survive in a pretty scary world. You will stock your pantry after reading this one.

4. The Outlander - Gil Adamson
A 'widow by her own hand' is hunted by her ex brothers-in-law in early 1900s western Canada. I thought this one should have won Canada Reads, but then I haven't read the winning book yet so I'm just reacting to my response to this book, which I really enjoyed. Makes you appreciate how far women's rights have come in 100 years.

5. Beat the Reaper - Josh Bazell
Crazy wild ride of a book. May not be for everyone, but imagine Dr House in witness protection, and then trying to save himself. Rude, crude and funny, you may not be interested in getting to a hospital any time soon.

The Ones I've Read Since It Started:
1. The Pull of the Moon by Elizabeth Berg rec'd by Mercy's Maid
2. Skellig by David Almond rec'd by Mariel
3. Animal Vegetable Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver rec'd by jenny simpson
4. The Houskeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa rec'd by 3M, a book lover
5. Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen rec'd by jenny simpson
6. Sacred Cows by Karen Olson rec's by literary feline
7. Rapunzel's Revenge by Shannon Hale rec'd by pussreboots
8. The Lizard Cage by Karen Connelly rec'd by freshinkbooks

Books that are on the list (so far) that I may tackle:
The End of the Alphabet by C.S. Richardson
Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
Broken for You by Stephanie Kallos
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta
Through Black Spruce by Joseph Boyden rec'd by freshinkbooks
Geek Love by Katharine Dunn
Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli

BOOK: Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See, 253 pages


around the world: China

I wanted to read this one during the Olympics but everyone else must have had that idea as it was highly requested at my library the past month. Once I got the book, I read it in two days. I've never read anything set in China, or anything about this culture. The extent of my exposure to ancinet China would be the movie Mulan.

It's all about women, and women in Chinese culture. Set in the mid-1800s, Lily is writing down her life story. It focuses on nu shu, an ancient secret language that women used exclusively to communicate amongst themselves. As Lily looks back on the events of her life, we are shown a world that stayed pretty isolated for a long time. The description of the foot binding process will stay with me for a long time, but also the reason why and how proud they were of their tiny feet. The rituals and superstitions that guided a woman's day, and life, are explained, with emphasis on duty and honor. It is mostly though, about the friendship between Lily and Snow Flower beginning when they are chosen to be old sames at age seven, much like spouses were bartered and negotiated by the matchmaker.

It was a tough life for women, their honor bound up, in their feet, and in the sons produced. I was torn between being upset at the lack of choices they had, and admiration for the strength and power they did have within their female world. At six their feet were bound and they were confined to the upstairs quarters. They were passed to their husband's family and became the lowest in that house, honoring the male family and in laws, especially the mother in law. The mothers were so controlling and unaffectionate, that by the time a woman finally got to be powerful, i.e. the mother of a son who had married, they seemed to take all their life disappointments out on the women now below them. The men didn't really have a large role in the family - bring home the money and produce boys. And yet, the women had friendships, and did control many family decisions.


If you haven't read this one yet, and I can't have been the very last person, I would recommend it as a powerful story of female friendship, and an historical look into old China.

BOOK: The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot

The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot

herding cats challenge

I haven't seen the movie, but I've seen the commercials. This is one where I think the movie would be better than the book. The plot itself - Mia Thermopolis, a 14 year old New Yorker discovers one day that her father is actually the prince of Genovia and that makes her a princess- is a good one, the classic Eliza Dolittle, My Fair Lady as her grandmother tries to turn her into a princess.

The diary format, where Mia tells the story including all her geeky girl angst, was a little much for me. It was a cute book, a cute story, but pretty typical 'never been on a date', 'not a popular girl' , 'rebel vegetarian girl' that populate many young adult novels. I read it quickly and it was a great diversion during the four baseball games my son played this weekend, and while I don't think I'll look for the sequels, I'd rent the movie. I imagine Julie Andrews could eat up the scenery as the proper, snooty grandmother.

BOOK: The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

Southern Reading Challenge, Herding Cats

I've seen this book listed on every list of books where people get to nominate their favorite books, and now I know why. Set in South Carolina in 1964, against the civil rights backdrop, it is the story of a young girl trying to find someone to care about her, a mother to love her. Lily runs away from her widowed father, T Ray, with her black housekeeper, as Lily is looking for some connection to her mother. She ends up at a pink house with three black bee keeping sisters in a neighbouring community. There she learns about bees, love, forgiveness, and mothers.

I would put this one on the short list of books worth reading again. The spiritual level of looking for forgiveness and finding love within yourself, as exemplified with the Black Madonna Mary was beautiful. The writing of Kidd to set the scene of South Carolina in the summer was breath taking, and I couldn't wait to immerse myself in her world every time I picked up the book. The voice of the narrator was wise and yet oh so human, with emotions of love and jealousy and anger. But the overall strength of the women was my favorite part, and an antidote after the past few books I've read. It made me proud to be a woman and see some amazing girl power.

Having said that about girl power, T Ray and his cranky foul moods and his behavior at the end made me really wonder about him. What was he like when Lily's mom met him? How did he deal with her abandonment and then death? What were his thoughts about Lily? He is a character that I would like to read this story of from his perspective. Did he analyze his actions and their ramifications afterward? I just feel there was a lot more to T Ray, and he could star in his own novel.

If you've written a review of this book, leave me a link in the comments.

BOOK: A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J Gaines

A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J Gaines

book awards challenge (NBCC 1993); herding cats challenge

I'm not sure I read this book in the right setting. A story about lessons learned before dying in the electric chair and an amusement park don't really go together, but I had lots of time while watching children ride the roller coaster and merry go round, so I took advantage of the reading time. This Oprah pick of a novel was good and kept my attention, but it's not the type of book that will make me rave.

Grant Wiggins, the teacher on a plantation school, is asked by his aunt to go and visit Jefferson in jail, in the months leading up to Jefferson's execution for a crime he did not commit. Grant is not happy with the way his life is going, and the expectations he feels on placed on him, but in talking to Jefferson, he gains a new view of what it means to live. I gained a new appreciation for life in the 1940s of Louisiana, in which the race relations don't appear to have progressed very far from the slavery days. It was rather scary to realize how desperate the times were for African Americans a relatively short time ago. It was a good read and it feels like an important book. Maggie talks about sense of place in the Southern Reading Challenge, and I really felt it in this book.

from the cover: "Enormously moving ... Gaines unerringly evokes the place and time about which he writes." - Los Angeles Times

CHALLENGE: 342,745 Ways to Herd Cats or tl;dr

I recommended my 10 books and now it's time to pick three books to read. There are 562 books on the list as of today, and many of the books have been listed by more than one person. It's really taken off. After going through the list, I found a list of books I already own, plus a few more that I want to read as well. Here's my list of potential reads:

• The Princess Diaries - Meg Cabot
• A Lesson Before Dying - Ernest Gaines


• The Plague - Albert Camus


• So Big - Edna Ferber


• Their Eyes Were Watching God - Zora Hurston Neal


• Big Stone Gap - Adriana Trigiani


• The Bean Trees - Barbara Kingsolver


• Crow Lake - Mary Lawson
  
• The Secret Life of Bees - Sue Monk Kidd

I don't know how I will pick just three. There are so may good books to pick from.

CHALLENGE: 342,745 Ways to Herd Cats or tl;dr

Host: Renay (aka bottle_of_shine)

Time Frame: May 1 - November 30

Here's how to play:
1. Make a list of ten books you love (or at least like).
2. Share the list.
3. Browse the lists created by other members -- Reading lists sorted by bloggers or Master Reading List sorted alphabetically.
4. Read at least three (3) books recommended by others between May 1 - November 30, 2008.
5. Write reviews of the books you read.
6. Share the links to your reviews with Renay and all the other members of the challenge.

*** For the complete How To's go to Renay's blog where she explains it all much better.


My list of books that I love, of course there are more, this is the top ten, today:


1. I Am the Messenger - Markus Zusak

2. Never Let Me Go - Kazou Ishiguro

3. A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry

4. Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery

5. The Perks of Being a Wallflower - Stephen Chbosky

6. The Eyre Affair - Jasper Fforde

7. Neverwhere - Neil Gaiman

8. The Gun Seller - Hugh Laurie

9. Black Swan Green - David Mitchell

10. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever - Barbara Robinson

I haven't picked my three reads yet, but the list is phenomenally long and good.