The New Lord John Book...

I really think I have a Diana Gabaldon addiction.  I know a lot of people that don't care for the Lord John books because they aren't Jamie and Claire, and they aren't written in quite the same style.  For me, I just love reading Diana Gabaldon's writing.  Her characters are so alive to me, and funny, and quirky, that I think I would read just about anything she put down on paper, probably even her grocery list.

With that said, yes, I finished The Scottish Prisoner.  I've had people ask for my opinion, to see if it's worth reading, and I will say, yes, it's worth reading if you need to get a Jamie fix, but if you really don't like the Lord John books, not reading this isn't going to leave you lost when the next Outlander book comes out.

(Not a reader?  Let me explain, Diana Gabaldon has written a seven book series (starting with Outlander) featuring Jamie and Claire.  She has also been writing a series of "shorter" novels about a character from the Outlander novels (Lord John) that do not feature Jamie and Claire.  The two series are very different, despite having many characters in common.  Because I'm madly in love with Ms. Gabaldon's writing, I've read all of her books and enjoyed them all thoroughly, but for many, the Outlander books with Jamie and Claire are enough for them.)

The Scottish Prisoner is a Lord John book that is actually split between Lord John and Jamie Frasier.  It takes place during Jamie's stay at Hellwater while he is a paroled prisoner after the Jacobite Rising.  This book fills in some gaps in the relationship between Jamie and John that had, up to this novel, been unaddressed.  Honestly, I think there's a lot more Jamie in this book than John, but I'm not complaining.  As usual for a Lord John book, there's mystery, murder and detective work in store.  While it's perhaps not one of the better Lord John books from a storyline perspective, it's a really great addition for filling in some background about Jamie Frasier and his friendship with Lord John.  And, really, anything with Jamie Frasier in it is fine with me.  It's impossible not to fall in love with him.  Impossible.

So, if you're on the fence about this one, but a big Gabaldon fan, I say read it.  You'll get a Jamie fix and get some interesting background that applies to the Outlander novels.  Plus, you've got to give Lord John some credit for being the funniest homosexual 18th century crime solver in literature.

The Scottish Prisoner

'I would not piss on him was he burning in the flames of hell,' Grey said politely.
One of Hal's brows flicked upward, but only momentarily.
'Just so,' he said dryly. 'The question, though is whether Fraser might be inclined to perform a similar service for you.'
Grey placed his cup carefully in the center of the desk.
'Only if he thought I might drown,' he said, and went out.

I LOVE Diana Gabaldon!  So excited to have a copy of The Scottish Prisoner!!!

Inheritance Thoughts

It's been a busy few weeks, so I've been a bit lazy in writing on this blog.  But I really do want to share my thoughts on Inheritance by Christopher Paolini.  I'm going to try to do it without spoilers, but if you haven't read it, and are planning on it, don't say I didn't warn you...

The series up to this point, has been the story of Eragon and his dragon Saphira battling the evil empire that has taken control of the country Eragon lives in.  Eragon works with rebels, as well as other "species" of citizens, like dwarves, elves and werecats (no, it's not important to know what a werecat is, just go with it.)  The story is a classic good vs. evil tale, very "Lord of the Rings"-ish.  This last book tries to wrap everything up nicely, but in my opinion, is a little lacking.  Obviously, good triumphs evil, though I won't tell you how, and Eragon becomes a hero.  But despite that, the ending is very sad.  I don't want to give it away, so it's really hard to write this, but it seems like Paolini is purposefully leaving enough loose ends so that he can tell another tale.  Which is fine, if he wasn't selling this book as the last in the series.  I think there would have been better ways to leave himself openings for more tales than just failing to resolve loose ends and provide a less than satisfying conclusion.  I don't like ending books feeling depressed, and that's how I felt at the end of Inheritance.

While writing this, I looked over a few reviews of the book from just regular readers like myself, and I see that many people feel the same way I do.  Too many loose ends and a depressing ending.  I did read also that Paolini has written that he might return to these books someday to continue writing, which validates my first thoughts, but "maybe" returning to write more shouldn't be an excuse for such a weak conclusion.

I will say that this book was actually really enjoyable to read.  It reads very much like the other three books and had the ending been a bit better, I would be singing nothing but praises for the book.  And while I know that we can't always have perfect endings or happy endings, in books or life, I really felt that this book dropped the ball.  I guess I'll just have to hope that Paolini does decide to write another book to answer his fan's questions, because I'd like to re-read the series again some day, but I'm not going to bother until he can provide me with some answers!

Good Grief: A Good Read

Today I finished Good Grief by Lolly Winston.  It was a really good, funny/heart breaking/heart warming story of dealing with grief.  The story is really funny, with a great central character who is really struggling with the loss of her husband.  While at times you feel heart broken for her and the breakdown she suffers, you can't help but enjoy her sense of humor, however dark it may be.

As she slowly starts to recuperate, she reinvents her life and the people she surrounds herself with.  The sense of humor remains, but now it seems like she's laughing at herself right along with you as she tries to deal with giving away her husband's clothes to Goodwill and go back to working, even if it is a waitressing job.

While I hope that I don't encounter that kind of grief for a long, long time, I enjoyed reading about a strong character who did manage to overcome it, laughing about it the whole way through.

(Side Note:  I've decided to stop posting on this blog everyday.  It's not what I originally had in mind, and I wasn't enjoying the way I was writing.  Maybe next year I'll have better luck with NaBloPoMo, but not this year.)

(Another Side Note:  I'm anticipating the arrival of Christopher Paolini's Inheritance in the mail tomorrow, don't expect to hear much from me for the next few days!)

The Sonnet Lover

So today I finished The Sonnet Lover by Carol Goodman.  It was really, really good, and made for a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon.  The story was about Rose, an English Professor at a small New York College, who agrees to go to Italy for the summer to help investigate a mystery surrounding hidden sonnets, the identity of Shakespeare's Dark Lady and the murder of one of her students.  The story has mystery and suspense, as well as love and betrayal, but the best part are the sonnets.  A large part of the plot revolves around trying to connect a story between William Shakespeare and the woman who was the Dark Lady in his sonnets, and a woman in Italy writing sonnets to her lover.

The storyline in this book is really enjoyable, and thoroughly appealed to my dorky English Major past.  The sonnets were beautiful and made me want to pick up a book of Shakespeare's sonnets and spend the rest of my evening immersed in beautiful language.

Books like this make me wish that I could write something creative.  Or even something scholarly.  Anything like that would appeal to my inner dork...

Maybe I'm Not Crazy...

A quick post tonight, since it's been a long day and I'm ready for bed...

I make a lot of book recommendations to my family and no one ever, ever, listens to me.  But this week I finally got both my husband and my stepson to listen to me.  It's pretty much miraculous.  Don borrowed the audio book for The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins from the library and after he finished it he had to admit that it was really goof.  He even put the next in the series on hold!

Encouraged by Don's response, I recommended Marcus start it this week since he had some free time.  Since Marcus doesn't ever read, seriously EVER, I was flabbergasted one night when I discovered he hadn't in fact fallen asleep in his room doing homework....he was willingly reading!  If Suzanne Collins ever reads this, she should see that as some seriously high praise.

Needless to say, I'm pleased my recommendation has been well received, hopefully they'll start to listen to me more often!  (Hahahaha, that would be the day....)

I Miss You Books...

When I decided to start a book blog, it was partly because I was reading 2-3 books per week and I wanted an outlet to share what I was reading.  Ironically, since I started the book blog, I've barely been able to read a book every two weeks.  What happened??  Well, a large part of it has been the result of a lack of books.  I rely on the library for a lot of what I have been reading lately, and between unavailability of the books, and unavailability of my husband to get to the library for me, I've been struggling to get my hands on interesting reads.  That's not all though, it seems that life has been getting busier and finding time to read has been challenging.  Something always seems to come up the second I set aside a few moments to read.  And even now, as I stumble through yet another blog post, I'm using up precious minutes that could be spent reading.

For now though, I think I'm ok with the trade off.  Once things settle back down I'm sure I'll find time for my favorite hobby.  And in the meantime, I'm really enjoying the daily goal of writing a blog a day.  They may not be interesting or well written, but it's a daily accomplishment, and sometimes that's just what I need.

P.S.- I'm slowly muddling my way through The Sonnet Lover by Carol Goodman.  As soon as I get more than 50 pages into it, I'll give a report!

Ending a Good Book

“You know you've read a good book when you turn the last page and feel a little as if you have lost a friend.”
― Paul Sweeney

 

I found this quote online today and I have to say, it pretty much sums up the way I feel at the end of every book I read.  There are very few books that I end in relief, happy to be finished with them.  More often than not, I find myself grumpy and irritated not because the book ended badly, but because the book ended, period.  It saddens me to say good bye to books and characters, especially at the end of series where I've grown attached.  It usually takes me a few days to mourn before I can allow myself to appreciate the book I just finished.

 

I think I'm going to need to form a support group when the last Diana Gabaldon book comes out in the Outlander series.  I don't think I'm ever going to be ready to say good bye to Jamie and Claire....

I Seriously Love Series....

Last night I finally finished the third book of the Christopher Paolini Inheritance Series.  They're pretty good books, but they were time consuming!  I'm glad to be done so I can explore some other types of fiction while I wait for the next book in that series to be released.

As a general rule, I really enjoy long books and long series.  I love not having to end a story just because a book is over.  As a result, I've read a lot of series.  Harry Potter, Outlander, A Game of Thrones, Into the Wilderness, Hunger Games, Lord of the Rings, Girl with the Dragon Tattoo....etc, etc, etc...  I can think of about a zillion series I've read, going back as far as The Little House on the Prairie series my mom read to me when I was a kid.

I know that a big part of my enjoyment comes from prolonging stories as long as possible, but I also know a part of it is my amazement that an author can write so much.  Not just one book about their characters but several books about their characters.  It's amazing!  Where does all that inspiration come from?

Someday I hope to have the opportunity to ask someone how they do it.  (Secretly I hope it's Diana Gabaldon, meeting her is on my bucket list...)  Maybe it's something I can figure out in my own writing...but I doubt it.

A Tough Choice

I can do this...I can do this...I can do this....

I'm beat tonight and after writing a blog post for my other blog celebrating my 100th post, I've got to admit, I'm not really feeling like writing something profound on this blog.  BUT, I'm determined to keep going on my NaBloPoMo goal of a post every day in November, so here I go, writing about something interesting...

Today I got a birthday gift from a friend.  A gift certificate to one of the local bookstores in Portland.  I'm so excited to go spend it!  I'm torn though, on what I should spend it on.  There's the new Christopher Paolini novel coming out shortly, and the new Diana Gabaldon coming out at the end of the month.  I own all the books in each series, so I feel like I should own both books, but I'm pretty sure my gift certificate will only cover the purchase of one book.

Oh, what a choice!!  I hate having to choose between books, and, if I'm being honest, I'm probably just going to buy both books anyway.  I can't have an incomplete series...  So I'll just look forward to my trip to browse the shelves, check out the used section and soak up everything "bookish" while I'm there.  I'll make the impossible choice when I get there...

Audio Books Aren't My Thing....

As I general rule, I prefer to read books.  My husband, on the other hand, prefers to listen to books.  I know for him it's because he spends two hours a day in the car commuting to and from work, so that's the best time for him to squeeze in some literature, but for me, listening to books has always been a struggle.

Even when I was in school and someone would read aloud from a text book or any other kind of book, I always had to see the words in front of me before I could grasp what was going on.  My mind tends to wander away when I'm supposed to be listening, which makes it hard to follow any sort of storyline.

Today, on our 2 1/2 hour drive to Islesboro, Don wanted to listen to an audio book he picked up at the library.  Usually, I whine and moan and beg to listen to the radio, but he had gotten his hands on a copy of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, so I consented to listen without an arguement.  Since I read this series just a few months ago, it didn't matter if my mind wandered a bit or if I started to doze off.  And, fortunately, The Hunger Games was a really good book, so starting it all over again doesn't bother me a bit.  I just wished the narrator didn't sound quite so whiney....yuck!

As a side note, if you haven't read The Hunger Games you probably should.  It was really good, and really addicting.  Don't plan on getting anything accomplished until you have read all three books.  Just a piece of advice.....

A Classroom of Books

When I was in seventh grade I had a class that was called "Reading."  And it was just that, a class for reading.  It wasn't an English class, or a language arts class, it was reading.  The whole period.  Every day.  Best.Class.Ever.  The classroom was floor to ceiling books.  You didn't have to leave the room to find something to read.  The teacher was very encouraging and we journaled back and forth about books.  She would start each class reviewing or describing a few books, and then the room would descend into silence as everyone read, or wrote, for the remainder of the class.

Seventh grade was a pretty tough year for me.  At the beginning of the school year my mom, sister and I moved from a VERY small town (I left a school where the 6th grade class contained 21 students and was the largest ever in school history) to an average sized town where my seventh grade class contained somewhere around two hundred kids.  So yes, it was a bit of a culture shock.  We also moved away from my father, and though my parents had already been divorced for several years by that point, we still saw my father often.  Moving several hours away and not having Dad nearby was also difficult to handle.  But Reading Class was completely miraculous to me.  A whole period of doing nothing but reading.  I could choose whatever books I wanted to read, I could read as many as I wanted, and I always had the kind words of the teacher supporting and encouraging me.

How in the world could any other class ever compete with that?

Collecting Dust

"Books should go where they will be most appreciated, and not sit unread, gathering dust on a forgotten shelf, don't you agree?" -Brisingr, Pg. 289

Well, do you agree?  I think I agree and disagree at the same time.  I absolutely think books belong where and with whom they are appreciated, which is why I have so many of them.  But, I have to admit, many of mine are collecting dust at the moment.  Should I part with them though?  So someone else could enjoy them?  In my case, the answer is no.  At any given time I could decide that I need to have a reunion with Scarlet O'Hara from Gone With the Wind or with Jason Bourne from The Bourne Identity or with any one of about a bazillion characters that live in the pages of the books on my shelves.  I can't part with them.  I just can't do it.

In the interest of clearing up bookshelf space, earlier this year I agreed to part with books that I had multiple copies of.  Even that was frustrating.  What would happen if I loaned out my copy of a certain book and then realized that I needed to re-read it?  I admit, the chances of that happening are pretty slim, which is why I agreed to get rid of my multiple copies....except for the Outlander series....I have doubles of those so I can loan them out.  I think it would be the end of the world if I didn't have at least one copy of Outlander in my house....

So, I guess my final opinion is that if books are sitting on your shelf collecting dust, it should be because you're in love with them and can't bear to part with them...not because you're a hoarder.  I mean, hoarders are crazy....and people who love books and characters that don't exist are...umm....not crazy?

About The Wild Rose

So last night, when I decided to participate in NaBloPoMo, I said I would write more about the book I just finished reading, The Wild Rose by Jennifer Donnelly.  This is the third book in a trilogy that she wrote about the same family.  The first book, The Tea Rose was about Fiona Finnegan, the oldest of the Finnegan siblings, and was the story of Fiona achieving her dreams, despite monumental challenges, and finding a lost love.

The story was continued in The Winter Rose which focused on Fiona's younger brother Charlie who had disappeared into the "underworld" of London's organized crime, but wanted to escape.  Charlie too struggles to hold onto true love and to make a better life for himself.

The Wild Rose is the story of the youngest brother Seamie who, true to form, has and loses his true love due to circumstance neither one can control.  This time war has broken out in Europe so fighting and spying play an important role.  Seamie, like his siblings, has to fight for his true love and overcome many obstacles in order to find happiness.

Well, when I summarize the three books like that, they kind of sound like cheesy love stories, but, I'm happy to say they're not.  The Tea Rose by far has the best storylines and characters, but the two sequels are so well written, exciting and interesting that it doesn't so much matter that the storylines are a bit repetitive, you just want to read them to follow the Finnegan family.

What's really nice about these three books is that while they are all three separate stories about the Finnegan children, they follow the story of the entire Finnegan family.  We still see and hear Fiona and Joe from the first book and Charlie and India from the second.  Since I'm admittedly a dork, and take books and stories far too seriously, I happen to enjoy the chance to "watch" stories unfold in the background, even after the original story has finished.

Needless to say, I really enjoyed this series and only wished that I hadn't had to wait so long to get this book from the library.  I swear, as soon as I win the lottery, I'm going to buy a zillion books and hide in my room for a year doing nothing but reading....

More Reading...More Blogging

Ok, if I'm going to do this book blog, I really feel like I need to buckle down and post some stuff.  Don't you think?  So, I've decided to set myself a goal, and participate in NaBloPoMo (aka National Blog Posting Month).  The goal is to post a blog every day for the month of November.

I have NO idea if I can do this, but I'm going to try.  If I claim to be a super book dork, I suppose I need to start acting like it.  Sooooo, for tonight let me say this:

We lost our power for the day on Sunday and, despite the chilly temperature and lack of showering, I enjoyed the opportunity to do nothing but READ for the entire day!  I was able to finish the Jennifer Donnelly book I had been DYING to read (awesome, I'll write more about it later!) and move on to the third book in Christopher Paolini's Inheritance series.  Needless to say, I felt like I got a lot accomplished...even if I still had a sink full of dirty dishes, mountains of laundry and dirt all over the house.  (You can't clean without power!!)  It's so nice to have a day when the only thing TO do is read.  In the future, I think I would like to figure out a way to do it and keep my electricity.  I'll have to work on that...

Tomorrow's goal will be updating on the books I've been reading and the last book in Jennifer Donnelly's "Rose" series.  I can do this...I can do this....

Holding Pattern...

Well, I'm nearly halfway through the second book in Christopher Paolini's dragon series (aka The Inheritance Cycle), and I surprisingly don't have that much to say about it.  It's good, I'm enjoying it, but I'm definitely not blown away by it.  I think what I'm enjoying the most so far is trying to guess what kind of sci-fi/fantasy novels inspired the author when he was writing this.

When I started this new blog I was sure I would have plenty of things to write about as I'm reading, but it seems that since I started this blog, I've had nothing interesting to say!  I feel like I'm stuck in a bit of a holding pattern as I wait for some of the books I really want to read to either become available, or published.

Frequently, I ask for recommendations for books to read from family and friends, and I've read quite a few good books with their help.  So I think I'll just put it out there that if anyone reading this blog ever has a suggestion, please let me know!  I'd love to find something amazing to get me out of this reading funk!

Happy Monday!

Waiting List

I've been struggling to accept the new "e-book" movement.  (Ok, I know, it's not exactly "new" but I'm really not one to embrace technology until I have to.)  I have a lot of reservations about buying books that I can't actually touch, feel, look at or share.  I love my books, I love my bookshelves full of books, and I love being able to loan out a favorite to a friend because I have it on hand.  But, I'm broke.  And books are expensive.  Some e-books are less expensive than books and, as I've discovered lately, my local library is connected to an online e-book library where you can "borrow" e-books on your "reader" without leaving your house.  Which is a huge bonus when you have an almost-two year old.

The other day I discovered that the Portland library now has a few "nooks" that you can borrow and use for reading e-books.  I thought this would be a good, free, opportunity for me to try out the e-books and the e-book readers.  So I had my husband put me on the list at the library.  I am number 65 in line.  The lady at the lending desk told him she'd see him in a few years. 

So there goes that plan.

I guess I'll be sticking with my real books for a while longer.  Which makes me happy, because I love them so much, but sad, because I'll be stuck waiting for things to become available at the library, or go on sale at my local bookstore.

I really think I need to win the lottery.  Could you imagine a life of unlimited books???  It would be so amazing...

Super Dork Status

I know I'm a dork.  I obviously have embraced that fact.  But, there's just something about reading dragon books that makes me feel like a super dork.  Add in the fact that they're young adult dragon books and, well, I feel ridiculous admitting I'm a fan.  But, I'm going to embrace it, because there's a NEW book coming out in the Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini and I'm going to read it.  So there.

I've read the first three: Eragon, Eldest, and Brisinger, and the fourth, Inheritance is coming out next month.  I'm by no means a super fan, I actually had forgotten this book was coming out until I saw an advertisement for it on Amazon.  Since I've been looking for a series to get into at the moment, I'm thinking I'll go ahead and re-read the first three so I can be prepared for the fourth.

I'm really starting to think I need to take a vow not to start series until ALL the books have been published.

From what I remember, the books were very well written, especially for a young adult series, and in spite of the fact that I don't normally enjoy fantasy novels, had a very good storyline.  I'll have to write updates on my thoughts as I am reading them, a good project for my new blog.
Wish me luck!

Disappointing

Isn't it disappointing when you have high hopes for a book and it lets you down?  I read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith a few years ago; it was EXCELLENT!  I loved the way it seamlessly wove together the classic story of Pride and Prejudice with the absurdity of zombie attacks.  It was a quick, fun, zombie filled book.  You can't ask for much more than that.

So I was excited to see Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters on the used shelf at my local bookstore.  I was looking forward to another quick and humorous twist on a classic.  I vaguely remembered that this was by a different author (Jane Austen and Ben H. Winters) but I was excited nonetheless.

I shouldn't have been.  It has been really slow going and the humor just isn't there in this one.  I'm actually considering "putting the book down."  (Gasp!)  I don't usually stop reading things once I've started them.  I like to finish what I've started so I can get the whole story, and so I can say, "Yes, I've read such and such."  Usually, I can grin and bear it through most things, but I'm just not sure about Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters.  I'll keep going for a few more days, with a little luck there will be some more sea monster attacks and maybe a bit more interesting storyline.  Maybe...

Do you stop reading things when they don't interest you, or do you try to stick it out?

Welcome

I have a younger sister and every time I post anything online about reading books she promptly calls me a dork.  She's correct.  I'm a giant dork.  I love to read, I've always loved to read and, as I've discovered lately, I like to talk about how much I like to read.  Hence my new blog, The Reading Dork.

For the past eight months I've been diligently writing a personal blog about my life, my family and what I'm reading.  And I've been reading a lot.  Since I now find myself in a crossroads of "what happens next" with my life, I thought I would take this opportunity to see just how far I can take my little reading hobby.

My goals, right now, include just a couple of things.  First, trying to make an online reading group.  I would really like to share books with people who are reading them with me, instead of just offering my thoughts and opinions.  I'd like some feedback!  I'd also like to set a goal of maybe 100 followers, either on the blog or on facebook.  After that, well, ultimately I'd like to figure out a way to make reading books my primary occupation.  Since that seems a bit daunting, I'd settle for just finding a way to get a free book sent my way every once in a while.  A girl's gotta have dreams, right?

So, thank you for taking the time to check out my blog.  And here's to setting goals for yourself!

Enjoy!