2009 September 23 » Birdbrain(ed) Book Blog

I have plans, okay.

Posted by Anastasia on September 23, 2009 No Responses »

Sep 232009

After BBAW a lot of people had posts about their blog goals, and so I started thinking about my own blog and what I want out of it. It’s been 7 months since the last time I considered what direction I want my blog going towards, so maybe it’s time to do it again.

Last time, I said (or thought) that I wanted more subscribers, more comments, better reviews, etc. I did, and still do, measure success by how many comments a post gets and how many subscribers I have. I’m still working on making my reviews better. And I’m still working on becoming more involved in the blog community. But what’s changed?

Basically, I’ve gotten rid of all my “goals.” I now have plans, and I have rules. Plans, I find, are much easier to execute, and rules just make me feel better about trying to execute those plans. At the moment my plans just include studying stats and seeing what they mean in regards to my blog. I’m calling it Operation Find Out What’s Going On, and it’s pretty much just “how are people finding my blog? what link are people clicking on? who’s linking to me? why does this post have more comments than that post?” and so on. Subscribers, daily views, how “good” a review is, etc: I’m not worrying about that anymore and I’m not going to obsess about them except in regards to Operation FOWGO.

While I’m doing that, I’ve come up with some “rules” that I’m going to try and stick to. This is just what I’ve decided for myself, but I think they could work for other people, too (yeah, I’m talking to you). They’re actually more like suggestions (or affirmations?), but whatever. “Rules” sounds more important!

Anastasia’s blogging rules
1. It’s impossible to visit every blog in existence, even just book blogs.
But: Do make an effort to find new blogs to read! Branch out! Meet new people!
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Review: Power of Three by Diana Wynne Jones

Posted by Anastasia on September 23, 2009 No Responses »

Sep 232009

Power of Three DWJ Power of Three by Diana Wynne Jones
Publication: Greenwillow Books (August 12, 2003), Paperback, 336 pages / ISBN 0064473597
Genre: Fantasy, Children’s/YA
Rating:
Find @ Amazon or IndieBound
Read: September 2009
First sentence: THIS IS THE STORY OF THE CHILDREN OF ADARA-of Ayna and Ceri who both had Gifts, and of Gair, who thought he was ordinary.

In one sentence: A little bit darker than her other books, and every bit as satisfying.

You may be surprised by this, but I wasn’t expecting to love this book. I generally like every DWJ book I read, but I don’t necessarily love them, and this one had both a bad cover and a crappy title going for it– and you know how much importance I place on covers (though mine doesn’t have the kids on it, actually)– so I assumed it was one of her not-as-good books. But! Don’t let the cover deceive you like it deceived me: this book is totally awesome.

Summary from Amazon:

Ayna could predict the future.
Cari could find what was lost.
Gair thought he was ordinary.

The three children of Gest, the chief of Garholt, know the perils of the Moor on which they live. The Dorig, their people’s enemies, are cold-blooded, fierce underwater creatures who terrify anyone unlucky enough to happen upon them. The Giants are dangerous and violent.

But it’s not until their home is invaded that Gair learns of a dying curse that endangers all three peoples of the Moor. A curse that ordinary Gair, with the help of his extraordinary brother and sister, may be able to break, but only at the most dreadful risk to all three, and to the Moor itself.

As always with books rated five birds, it’s hard to pick out specific things I love about those books. But I’ll give it my best shot:

The characters. Pure DWJ, they are, and every bit as wonderful and real (yet magical) and adorable (or scary, depending) as you’d ever want in a character. They actually remind me a lot of the two main characters in Heroes of the Valley, so if you like that book you’ll like this one, too.

The adventure. It’s rather short-lived, actually, but there’s a big twist near the last half that makes everything more intense and fantastic. And the end! I can’t even talk about the end without spoiling things, but it’s very, very good.

The writing. I think DWJ is particularly “on” in Power of Three, much like the Chrestomanci books, or maybe Fire and Hemlock. When she does stuff well it’s done well, if you see what I mean.

It takes place in an England-ish area but it feels very Saxon-y, and the overall tone of the book is very traditional German-type fairy tale– Grimm-ish, but better. It does start off a little strangely, with a character who seems primary but becomes secondary, and a rather unnecessary death of a minor character (I hate it when she does that). But don’t let that deter you! If you like myths and fairy tales, if you like hero tales with a bit of Anglo-Saxon in them, if you like DWJ at all, read this book! It’s lovely and it’s got funny bits in it (and some drama/tragedy) and adventure and action and broody heroes and strong females and it’s WONDERFUL.

I suppose now my position as “Diana Wynne Jones Fangirl” has been firmly cemented. HA. (As if it wasn’t before, honestly.)

Get your own copy from Amazon or your favorite indie bookstore!

Other reviews: Robynettely