2009 November » Birdbrain(ed) Book Blog

Review: The House of Power (Atherton #1) by Patrick Carman

Posted by Anastasia on November 30, 2009 No Responses »

Nov 302009

237. The House of Power (Atherton #1) by Patrick Carman

Publication: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (April 1, 2008), Paperback, 330pp / ISBN 0316166715

Genre: Sci-Fi, Middle Grade

Rating:

Read: November 24-25, 2009

Source: Bought

Summary from Amazon:

Edgar, a gifted climber, secretly scales the treacherous walls separating the three worlds of Atherton: the humble grove that is his home…a mysterious highland realm of untold beauty and sinister secrets …and a vast wasteland below, where a monstrous danger lurks that could destroy them all.

While searching the forbidden cliffs for a treasure lost in his faded memory, Edgar discovers the first of many startling revelations to come: the three realms are beginning to collapse, turning his entire world inside out. Atherton is not what it seems, but something far more dangerous, with a history locked inside the mind of a madman and a future beyond Edgar’s wildest imagining.

Warning: There’s some spoilers in this review, mainly because I couldn’t keep myself from talking about certain things. They’re not really big spoilers, but you might have a better time if you read the book first and then my review.

Review

I had bought The House of Power back in the summer, I think, mostly because of the cover (although I am not sure if the figure on the right is a girl or a boy– is it Samuel or Isabel? No idea.). It’s quite energetic, and I thought it looked like a potentially good book (it was also about $2– very good deal). I didn’t remember I had it, however, until I read Bart‘s Best Utopian YA Novels Redux post, which mentions the Atherton series and how awesome it is. Having now read the first book, I can most heartily agree with that sentiment!

I was really surprised by The House of Power. It starts off one way and then these disconcerting things start popping up that made me wonder if I read it correctly. For instance, Atherton is a world orbiting around the “Dark Planet,” i.e. Earth after many decades of pollution, destruction, and general irresponsibility. (Think Wall-E.) But this isn’t told to the reader right out– and it’s very jarring when you figure it out. Then too the way Atherton is set up: three levels (the Highlands, Tabletop, and Flatlands), where all the power is at the top and the people living in the lower layers have to submit to the toppers because the toppers control the water. It’s sort of an obvious metaphor for a political organizational scheme, but it is a MG book, after all. And anyway, it’s creepy! How can a place like Atherton exist? It’s not spheroid. The bottom part is always pointing towards the Dark Planet. Actually, maybe something is slightly off in the physics of this book. Don’t think about it, maybe.

Anyway, I really liked the themes of power, control, freedom, and independence. While Edgar is trying to figure out who he is and what Atherton means, there’s an interesting secondary plot with the people living on the top two levels and how the meeting of the two means a complete revolutionary upheaval. There’s a really interesting (and creepy) thing near the end where it turns out the dude who created Atherton believed that certain people should be the thinkers and certain other people should be the workers, and that the two can’t be mixed. So what happens when the thinker level and the worker level meet? (Hint: it’s violent.)
Continue reading »

APFOL: November 22-28

Posted by Anastasia on November 29, 2009 No Responses »

Nov 292009

Interesting posts and other things that have caught my eye this week. It isn’t actually everything, since I didn’t want to kill myself copy-pasting, so for the entire link collection check out my Delicious page.

And now, I present to you, my readers: Awesome Post Full of Links #13: November 22-28!

Books in General

Why the International Kindle Will Change the Book As We Know It – WSJ.com
“But I am immensely excited for the new phase of the book. So far the new technology has been called the “e-reader,” a term obviously picked by engineers, not poets. In literary terms it’s a transbook, by which I mean that it is the book which can contain all books. Why are so many writers so afraid of this staggeringly wonderful possibility? A book is a singular object that can contain many voices, but the transbook has the potential to be a singular object containing all voices. It is not just another kind of media; it is the dream of ultimate text.”
Books Are Bad for You “If there are still good books, they are largely irrelevant to a form and business that is largely about the creation of the artifact—identifier, symbol, leave-behind, brand enhancer. Books are a sales tool. They’re propaganda. And they’re fake. A lie. So many are just simply not written by the people the publisher tells you they are written by. Somebody should sue.”
Fangs and Hair, Vamps and Weres, and What’s Next | Smart Bitches, Trashy Books
“I’ve talked about why paranormal romance is so popular and related that to the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the US, and I think that same resolution of fear is, in part, what makes vampire romance so continually interesting to readers. I think (and many people disagree with me here) that paranormal romance became superbly popular in the US market following 9/11/01, for two main reasons. First, the evil is easily identified. Either he wants to exsanguinate you, or he gets really hairy in compliment to her lunar cycle, but the otherness and the potential intent to harm is pretty easy to spot. Contrast that with the kid and a backpack on the subway who might be a student or might be ready to blow himself and his neighbors to bits. The easily identifiable evil is a comforting contrast.”
Fluff « Both Eyes Book Blog
“When I used this term recently, I had no idea it was so loaded with connotations. (Sort of like when I first moved to California and thought “macking on” meant the same as “flirting with” instead of “making out.”) It seems that ‘fluff’ is like ‘porn’ – hard to define, we know it when we see it, personal preferences may differ, some will have nothing to do with it, and the one with a problem is the one who looks at it more often than you do.”

Authors & Publishers

Jane Austen’s Lessons for the Modern World – WSJ.com
“Today’s readers tend to appreciate Austen despite her didacticism rather than because of it. She can be positively priggish, and that is an embarrassment. The contemporary reader who loves Jane Austen sort of blips over the moralizing sections and tells himself that they don’t really count. It is possible to ignore this aspect of her work, just as it is possible to discuss a religious painting with hardly any reference to the artist’s religious intent. But this seems absurd: Ignoring a writer’s central concern is a strange way to attempt to appreciate and understand her.” (via @history_geek)
5 Ways Cory Doctorow is scaring traditional publishers | Brad’s Reader
“Before the internet and the digital technology that has turned ebooks into a formidable force in the publishing world, traditional publishers were the gatekeepers to becoming a successful author. Cory Doctorow is changing that. He puts his money where his mouth is.” (via @booklorn)

(Book) Blogging

Bad Attitude Gets Blogger Blackballed from RWA
WOAH, wtf is this crap, please?

Meta: Delicious | Google Reader

Review: A College of Magics by Caroline Stevermer

Posted by Anastasia on November 27, 2009 No Responses »

Nov 272009

215. A College of Magics by Caroline Stevermer

Publication: Starscape (October 13, 2002), Paperback, 480pp / ISBN 0765342456

Genre: Historical Fantasy (I think?)

Rating:

Read: October 2009

Source: BookMooch

Summary from Amazon:

Teenager Faris Nallaneen is the heir to the small northern dukedom of Galazon. Too young still to claim her title, her despotic Uncle Brinker has ruled in her place. Now he demands she be sent to Greenlaw College. For her benefit he insists. To keep me out of the way, more like it!

But Greenlaw is not just any school-as Faris and her new best friend Jane discover. At Greenlaw students major in . . . magic.

But it’s not all fun and games. When Faris makes an enemy of classmate Menary of Aravill, life could get downright . . . deadly.

Review

I’ve never read a Caroline Stevermer book before, but I’ve heard good things. I actually remember trying to read this book when I was 12 and I hated it, so I was a little wary of reading it now, about 10 years later. But! After I got past the bumpy beginning, I actually liked it a lot.

I found the beginning bumpy mostly because I had to adjust to the writing style. It’s somewhat old fashioned, and it’s somewhat…unwieldy? All I know is that it took me a while to get into it, but once I did I rather liked the way the words flowed and how the language sounded. (I suppose I’ve just spent so much time reading modern-sounding books that the difference threw me off for a while.)

Anyway, the plot was somewhat disjointed. I really liked the part where Faris actuall goes to Greenlaw, because it reminds me a lot of those movies set in the 1950s boys schools, like Dead Poets Society or something, and those sorts of things always fascinate me. And I really liked how Faris and her friends did more than just sit around and bake cookies (or whatever)– they went on adventures and tried not to get killed by school work, etc.

However, despite my fondness for boarding schools and stories set in them, I do think the second half of the book was much stronger than the first part. I don’t understand the point of having a school of magic where a) you don’t actually do any magic, b) the sorts of magic you can do there can only be done at Greenlaw and nowhere outside of it, and c) doing magic is outlawed. I suppose I can see what they were getting at regarding magic and responsibility…kinda. But it makes for a very dissatisfying fantasy book and I’m not even sure what the point was when Faris can do magic outside of Greenlaw and doesn’t get in trouble for it. What’s the point of all that Greenlaw-specific magic stuff when it doesn’t even apply for the rest of the book? Am I missing something?

Anyway, because of that whole thing I enjoyed the second half of the book much more than the first. It’s exciting, and things actually happen. I liked the political intrigue, and the romance, and the travelling, and the interesting psychedelic sort of thing that happened near the end. Menary was a good villain, though he was obviously insane and I felt a little bad for her.

Faris is an interesting character. I didn’t really like her at the beginning of the book because she was so brash and cynical and bitter. But she gets better, more passionate, and though she’s still a little bit bitter I think she has the potential to change even more in the future. I’m not entirely sure if I ended up liking her or not, but I do appreciate her sort of person (because they’re so different from myself!).

Anyway, the second part still seems like a different sort of book than the first part. It’s got a different sort of feel to it. The rhythm is a little bit different, and that threw me off. Maybe because Faris herself is changing, and so the book changes with her? Or…I don’t know. I think I am missing something, so if someone could explain it to me I’d be very grateful.

I feel a bit like I did after reading Hexwood. A little confused, but what I understood I really enjoyed. It’s got a sequel (right?) which I really want to read because I want to find out what happens with Faris and her love interest!

And

Find your own copy @ Amazon or IndieBound

Other reviews: Fyrefly’s Book Blog

Have you reviewed this book? Leave me the link to your post and I’ll add it into my post!

Thursday Tea: November 26 (The Sophisticated Traveler: Great Tours and Detours)

Posted by Anastasia on November 26, 2009 No Responses »

Nov 262009

Thursday Tea is a weekly meme hosted by yours truly. To play along, all you need is some tea, a book, and the answers to these questions: what tea are you drinking (and do you like it)? What book are you reading (and do you like it)? Tell us a little about your tea and your book, and whether or not the two go together.

The book: I have literally just started The Sophisticated Traveler: Great Tours and Detours. I’m at the beginning so I have no idea if I like it yet, but considering its a short story collection of travel stories I’d guess it’d be pretty hard to dislike it, you know? But it seems like it’ll be a real trip (excuse the pun) because it covers nearly the entire world, excluding the Arctic.

The tea: Today is not tea day. Today is eggnog day. I know! It’s bad for you. But I can’t help myself– I love eggnog! I don’t drink it year-round, but as soon as Thanksgiving shows up it’s time to start chugging the eggnog.

Do you know the origins of eggnog? For some reason I had thought it was a Middle East kind of thing (because of the spices), but actually it was probably invented in England. Here’s a bit from Wikipedia:

The origins, etymology, and even the ingredients used to make the original eggnog drink are debated. Eggnog, or a very similar drink, may have originated in East Anglia, England, though it may also have been developed from posset (a medieval European beverage made with hot milk). An article by Nanna Rögnvaldsdóttir, an Icelandic food expert, states that the drink adopted the “nog” part of its name from the word “noggin”, a Middle English phrase used to describe a small, wooden, carved mug used to serve alcohol. Another name for this British drink was Egg Flip. Yet another story is that the term derived from the name “egg-and-grog”, a common Colonial term used to describe rum. Eventually the term was shortened to “egg’n'grog”, then “eggnog”.

And here’s an eggnog recipe from Alton Brown, and a vegan eggnog recipe. I’ve never made my own eggnog– have you?

Do they go together? Okay, let’s be honest. Eggnog would only go with books set in the winter time. The Sophisticated Traveler? Not set in the winter time. So, no: eggnog doesn’t go with this book. (I don’t care!!)

What are you drinking/reading this Thursday?

Review: The Lost City of Z by David Grann

Posted by Anastasia on November 26, 2009 No Responses »

Nov 262009

236. The Lost City of Z by David Grann

Publication: Doubleday (February 24, 2009), Hardback, 352pp / ISBN 0385513534

Genre: Non-Fiction, Adventure

Rating:

Challenges: 2009 Pub Challenge (#9)

Read: November 22-24, 2009

Source: Library

Summary from Amazon:

After stumbling upon a hidden trove of diaries, acclaimed New Yorker writer David Grann set out to solve “the greatest exploration mystery of the twentieth century:” What happened to the British explorer Percy Fawcett and his quest for the Lost City of Z?

In 1925 Fawcett ventured into the Amazon to find an ancient civilization, hoping to make one of the most important discoveries in history. For centuries Europeans believed the world’s largest jungle concealed the glittering kingdom of El Dorado. Thousands had died looking for it, leaving many scientists convinced that the Amazon was truly inimical to humankind. But Fawcett, whose daring expeditions helped inspire Conan Doyle’s The Lost World, had spent years building his scientific case. Captivating the imagination of millions around the globe, Fawcett embarked with his twenty-one-year-old son, determined to prove that this ancient civilization–which he dubbed “Z”–existed. Then he and his expedition vanished.

Fawcett’s fate–and the tantalizing clues he left behind about “Z”–became an obsession for hundreds who followed him into the uncharted wilderness. For decades scientists and adventurers have searched for evidence of Fawcett’s party and the lost City of Z. Countless have perished, been captured by tribes, or gone mad. As David Grann delved ever deeper into the mystery surrounding Fawcett’s quest, and the greater mystery of what lies within the Amazon, he found himself, like the generations who preceded him, being irresistibly drawn into the jungle’s “green hell.” His quest for the truth and his stunning discoveries about Fawcett’s fate and “Z” form the heart of this complex, enthralling narrative.

Review

I immediately noticed that it was one of those books that tended to the more sensationalist side of things. That’s entertaining, but also off-putting because I’m not sure I can trust the information. It was interfering with my enjoyment of the book to keep thinking of it like it was actively tricking me into believing something false, so I tried to put it out of my mind. I tried to think of it more like a fictional book than a non-fictional one (or maybe like a fictional book with non-fictional leanings), and that worked pretty well. It let me be less hostile towards The Lost City of Z, and I actually ended up enjoying it a lot.

Stories of adventurers and explorers always excite me, and this one is particularly exciting. I don’t want to ever wander around the Amazon jungles myself– the bugs and deadly plants and killer animals are just too overwhelming– but I do enjoy reading about other people doing it. With ice and desert landscapes you get the psychological aspects of having to survive in a bald landscape under horrific temperatures, but the jungle is quite psychologically damaging as well. The Lost City of Z mentions quite a few times when the constant attack of gnats, flies, ticks, maggots, ants, termites and other bugs caused explorers to basically go mad, and I can understand why. I hate just even thinking of bugs crawling over me; no way I could survive them actually doing so!
Continue reading »

Review: The Mark of Zorro by Johnston McCulley

Posted by Anastasia on November 25, 2009 No Responses »

Nov 252009

234. The Mark of Zorro by Johnston McCulley

Publication: Penguin Classics (August 30, 2005), Paperback, 272pp / ISBN 0143039334

Genre: Action/Adventure, Historical Fiction?

Rating:

Read: November 20, 2009

Source: Library

Summary from Amazon:

Originally titled The Curse of Capistrano in its 1919 debut, this exciting tale achieved immortal fame thanks to Douglas Fairbanks’s 1920 blockbuster film, The Mark of Zorro—a cinematic triumph that inspired Johnston McCulley to retitle his novel and dedicate it to Fairbanks. Set in Mexican California during the 1820s, the story follows the career of Don Diego Vega, by all appearances an effete and foppish aristocrat. But Vega’s timorous reputation is nothing more than a mask to conceal his alter ego: a California Robin Hood known as Zorro, whose swift blade strikes down those who exploit the poor and oppressed. The inspiration for dozens of film and television adaptations, The Mark of Zorro remains a paradigm of swashbuckling adventure.

Review

A coworker of mine is pretty obsessed with Zorro, and after a while she interested me enough to try and read one of the books. I’m familiar with some of the movies, and I like sword-fighting dashing young heroes who always have something witty to say, so I figured it was a pretty safe be that I’d like The Mark of Zorro.

The Mark of Zorro is the first Zorro book, and it was originally published serially. Serialized stories are almost always action-packed, exciting, and rather wordy– think Alexandre Dumas or the Sherlock Holmes stories. Every chapter either ends on a note that moves the story forward and wants to keep you reading. In The Mark of Zorro, the chapters tended to end on a “and then something shocking and/or exciting happened!” note, which meant the book moved like lightning. I was not actually expecting to like that formula, though, so imagine how surprised I was when I found myself eagerly reading chapter after chapter like a pigeon who found a stash of seeds.

It was so exciting! I’m going to use that word a lot, but that’s exactly what The Mark of Zorro is. It’s exciting, and romantic, and it hardly has any of the horrible early pulp fiction problems that I hate.

It was also rather wordy in some places, like I said. That’s because serial novelists got paid by the word (think Dickens), so while some parts are fantastic and energetic, other parts are just too much. I think I skimmed most of them, now that I think back on it. The first page is a real killer in too-much department, but don’t let it fool you– the chapter ends in a really great way.

About Zorro/Don Deigo– was I not supposed to know that they were the same person? There’s a big reveal/explanation at the end of the book, but, like…I already knew all the stuff that’s being explained! Would people reading it for the first time and with no previous knowledge of Zorro not really have figured it out during the course of the book anyway? Hm. No idea.

Anyway, I actually really like Zorro/Diego. Diego I found funny and somewhat campy and he lightened the novel up a lot. Zorro was dashing and exciting and everything I could want in a hero, really.

His love interest, Lolita, was fine for the most part, but whenever the two of them got together there were even more exclamation marks than when they were apart, and it got quite distracting. But I loved how Zorro wooed her, and how Diego kept striking out. I didn’t expect to like their romance so much, actually, since I tend to despair of any strong women existing in a pulp novel. But Lolita is quite strong, and I liked her.

The plot is good, too, with lots of those sword fights I love and lots of vengeance against bad dudes, which I also love. It ends rather abruptly, and in a way that I think meant Mr McCulley wasn’t planning on writing any more Zorro novels. It was a bit surprising, that, especially since the Zorro in the movies is always taking such pains to hide his identity.

Anyway, I really, really liked The Mark of Zorro! I was pleasantly surprised, and I’m glad I read it. I’m definitely going to read some other Zorro books.
Continue reading »

Book Trailer Tuesday: Under the Dome

Posted by Anastasia on November 24, 2009 No Responses »

Nov 242009

Book Trailer Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by me, Anastasia. It’s very simple to play along: find a particularly awesome book trailer, embed it in a post, then proceed to coo all over it. Or, y’know, talk about whatever you want to talk about. Why did this book trailer catch your eye? Why do you want to share it with people? Did it make you want to read the book? Why was it effective (or not)?

This week’s featured book trailer is:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ox7esxXlyIk]

Stephen King’s Under the Dome! Now, a disclaimer: I don’t particularly like Stephen King’s books, and I won’t be reading this one. But I like this trailer because of the move from an innocuous beginning, with just a few sound effects, to all out chaos by the end (with a lot of noise). It’s remarkably effective, especially since it looks like it was made with a computer hailing from the year 1997. And I also really like how you just get that hint of the fire-death-omg what’s going on out of the corner of your eye.

I think it’s a really nifty little trailer and it’s pretty effective, I think. If I had never heard of Stephen King before and hadn’t already tried to read about seven of his books and hated them all, I’d definitely want to read this.

What book trailers caught your eye this week? Leave a link to your post so others can find out!