Long time, no post

Well...it's the end of the summer, and I got -- severely -- out of the habit of posting, didn't I. No good excuses. I've just been doing other stuff. I did continue to read like crazy all summer. Finished The Half Blood Prince. Loved it. I knew Harry and Ginny would end up together!!! The end definitely left a lot of questions to ponder for two years. Worked a bit on my own personal Harry Potter encyclopedia. Yes, a bit fanatical, eh? And too much time on my hands.

Ellie, Alan, and I got into The Series of Unfortunate Events pretty deep this summer. We even infected my dad with the disease while we were out visiting him and the rest of the family in Oregon. He is currently in the middle of Book the Eleventh and wondering when Book the Twelfth is coming out. Mom just put him on the list to get it from the library as soon as they get it. Ellie and I finished The Grim Grotto and are currently trying to discover the name of the Twelfth on the Lemony Snicket website.

Read Good Night, Mr. Tom for Battle of the Books (NC school program) and really enjoyed it! Interesting, harrowing, and heartwarming story of a boy evacuated from London at the beginning of World War II. Hmmm...what else did I read? I revisited The Edge and Straight by Dick Francis, my favorite British mystery writer. Aquamarine was a short, interesting read about a couple of girls who discover a mermaid at the local beach/swim resort. Oh! I also read Howl's Moving Castle by Vivian Van Velde. I wanted to see the movie, too, but I don't know if it's still out. The book was pretty good. A bit long. Not my favorite.

Well, that's all I can think of. I don't know how much I'm going to keep up with this blog. I'm going to start one for my Battle of the Books team at school. And I'll be generally pretty busy with school stuff. I might start a general one for the media center with book news. And I don't know how much anyone is even reading this. I really was just trying it out, to see how these blog things work. Later, dudes.

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Meandering through Half-Blood Prince

Ellie and I had a fun time getting our copy at Main Street Books in Davidson. Very exciting. We also asked for and got one of the packing boxes--we're a bit sad, aren't we? Anyway, we started the first chapter right away, sitting at a chair outside the bookstore. We didn't get very far before deciding to go home. And it was a good thing, too, because it started to rain just as we got to the car. So we finished Chapter 1 at home. Then I read the next two chapters on my own. Continue on to read my thoughts on each chapter, if you are interested. And obviously, beware of spoilers if you haven't read the book yet.


Chapter 1: Not tremendously exciting. I care more about what Harry is up to than the Muggle Prime Minister. Although it's kind of interesting to see how Fudge had communicated with the PM before. And here we find the new Minister of Magic - and the lion quote that was given out by JKR a long time ago. I vaguely remember Scrimgeour's name, but not anything about him. Okay, I just checked my notes (yes, I'm a bit sad), and Scrimgeour was mentioned on page 122 of Order of the Phoenix. Tonks was saying that he seemed suspicious of the Aurors who were in the Order. But that's it. Oh, and there's an absolutely frightful error in Chapter 1: they use the word "site" when they mean to use the word "sight" -- shocking!!!!

Chapter 2: As I said to Alan, this one's a humdinger. It really makes me wonder whose side Snape is on! If he's really working for the Order, he's doing an excellent job hiding it from the Death Eaters. If he's really a Death Eater, he has done an excellent job hiding it from Dumbledore. You just can't trust someone who is on the fence! The two items that suggest to me that he really is a DE are that he says he gave information to Voldemort that led to the death of Emmeline Vance and he promises in the Unbreakable Vow to carry out Draco's task if Draco isn't managing it. Sounds bad. On the other hand, Dumbledore seems to be a step ahead of Voldemort - like anticipating the value of Pettigrew owing Harry his life and the brief look of triumph when he hears that Voldemort used Harry's blood and his understanding of the ancient power of love and sacrifice. So it seems like he wouldn't be fooled by Snape. But it doesn't seem like Voldemort would be fooled by Snape either. Maybe Snape is a DE, and Dumbledore knows it and is using him, somehow. Hmmm...lots to think about. --- Speaking of, what IS the task that Draco is supposed to carry out? I would think it would be to kill Harry, but that seems too obvious. What else could it be? I bet it is something else, though.

Chapter 3: Loved it!!! What fun to have Dumbledore take on the Dursley's in his oh-so-polite manner! I loved the bit with the glasses of mead! --- And I thought that Harry would inherit Number 12, Grimmauld Place! But I didn't think about him inheriting Kreacher! I bet the Hogwarts house elves do a good job keeping him in line! Ha!

Okay, Ellie has been reading away in the living room. I've got to go catch up with her so we can talk about it!

Chapter 4: Horace Slughorn seems alright to me. He's obviously a bit ambitious and very self-centered. But otherwise harmless. --- I was glad to hear that Harry had shook himself out of his gloom a bit, realized he couldn't hide himself away.

Chapter 5: Fleur absolutely cannot marry Bill!!! I have to side with Hermione, Ginny, and Mrs. Weasley that she is really annoying. --- Too bad about Tonks being so down. I wonder if it really is because of Sirius...I guess so. With Rowling, you always have to distrust the way things seem on the surface. --- I'm glad Harry told Ron and Hermione about the prophecy. I wondered how and when he would do that. --- Harry, Ron, and Hermione earned about what I expected on their O.W.L.s. I knew Harry would get an O for DADA and poor marks on Divination and History of Magic.

Chapter 6: Bad news about Florean Fortescue and Ollivanders. I wonder if O really did join the DE. He's a good wand-maker, but that doesn't mean he's a good person. --- And Harry's Quidditch Captain!!! I didn't really think he would be, although I read an essay (yes, I'm sad) that suggested he would be. Very cool. --- Pretty tense moments in Madam Malkins with the Malfoys. --- Fred and George's shop is great! I didn't think about them branching off into security products, but it doesn't surprise me. They really are outstanding at making magical items. --- And what's Malfoy up to? I think Harry's right about the Dark Mark, but I wonder what he wants fixed and what he's having reserved for him.

Chapter 7: First sign of support for Harry/Ginny shippers like myself: "[Harry] felt a strange twinge of annoyance as [Ginny] walked away, her long red hair dancing behind her; he had become so used to her presence over the summer that he had almost forgotten that Ginny did not hang around with him, Ron, and Hermione while at school." page 136 Yay! --- I do like Neville and Luna! I bet Neville does better at school now, with his own wand. --- Well, Slughorn is looking more greasy and grasping, isn't he. Still not evil, but definitely self-serving - ick! --- Bad idea of Harry's, to try to sneak into a compartment full of Slytherins. Malfoy got him good. However, if Malfoy is supposed to do away with him completely, why didn't he?

Chapter 8: Snape really does hate Harry, doesn't he. How can he be opposed to Voldemort when they have this common hatred? Although, I suppose Snape doesn't know about the prophecy (see Chapter 4), so he doesn't know that Harry is the key to Voldemort's downfall. And even if he did know, and he wanted V to be stopped, that wouldn't make him like Harry when his hatred is so deep. --- Can you imagine Harry walking into the Great Hall, late, with blood all over his face! No wonder he caused a stir! --- What a shock: Slughorn's going to teach Potions and Snape's taking on DADA! That's a huge surprise! Thanks, JKR! You keep us on our toes.

Chapter 9: I cannot believe Harry would say that to Snape!!! (see p. 180) --- Second bit of evidence for Harry/Ginny shippers: First, the love potion smelled to Harry like "treacle tart, the woody smell of a broomstick handle and something flowery he thought he might have smelled at the Burrow" page 183 and "...it's supposed to smell differently to each of us, according to what attracts us..." page 185. Third, "...he caught a sudden waft of that flowery smell he had picked up in Slughorn's dungeon. He looked around and saw that Ginny had joined them." page 192 Hah! --- And Harry's new/old potions text! That's the book that's on the cover of the adult version of HBP, so it's obviously important. And the fact that it was owned by the Half-Blood Prince adds to that. Just got to wonder if the HBP is really good or bad. And it's interesting that Lily was so good at Potions! Hmmm...more food for thought!

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The Wolves of Willoughby Chase and Black Hearts at Battersea by Joan Aiken

My sister-in-law and niece recommended these books to me about a year ago, and I finally got started on the series. They remind me of Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket--you know, orphans who foil the evil plans of wicked adults--only they are more earnest. And they came first, of course. It's good fun to see how the children will deal with their adventures and discover the schemes of the underhanded adults.

I really enjoyed the first two of the series. The children are good and clever without really being too sickly sweet. The names are kind of entertaining: Slighcarp, Grimshaw, Brisket, Buckle, Midwink, Scrimshaw, and Dark for bad guys and Green, Pattern, Field, Cobb, Furneaux for good guys. Fun.

The characters are as quirky as their names. The Duke of Battersea is fascinated by mold and enjoys a good game of chess. Dr. Furneaux of the Art Academy is three foot, six inches tall, but he'll roar at students who don't perform to his expectations. And Dido Twite -- what can I say about this sassy little urchin? I understand that she is the heroine of other books in the series.

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Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling

ONLY FIVE MORE DAYS!!!!!!!

Sorry, I couldn't restrain myself...Although, I'll have to be careful about my expectations or I'll just be disappointed. Ellie and I are going to a small bookstore in Davidson Friday to watch the movie of the third book and then we'll get our copy as soon after midnight as possible. Yay!

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Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason by Helen Fielding

I picked this up on tape at the library to have something to listen to on my drive to Charlotte. But I couldn't wait until then, and I listened to almost the whole thing yesterday! While I mopped the kitchen floor and weeded and ate lunch and planted celosis(?) and moved the daylilies that were crowded and ate dinner and just hung out on the front porch.

This, of course, is not a children's book, what with the colorful language, drinking, smoking, and discussions of shagging. And I can't really explain my fascination. Alan can't stand it, because he hates the characters and feels that they fully deserve all the pain they go through. But he rented the movie for me, so I was interested in hearing the book.

I guess I'm a little more sympathetic to Bridget's problems than Alan, although she competes with the comic strip character Cathy for her obsessions with her body and overanalyzing relationships. I do share her appreciation for Colin Firth in Pride and Prejudice, although I'm not as obsessed with the wet shirt scene. Anyway, I always like a romance, and having seen the movie, I have Colin Firth in my mind for the Mark Darcy character. And he's really such a sweet character...sigh.

Well, I think this post wins for being the most stream of consciousness, a.k.a. disorganized.

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Children of the River by Linda Crew

Sundara, a teenager who escaped the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia in 1975, is trying to make a new life in Oregon with her aunt, uncle, cousins, and grandmother. The first chapter describes their flight from their homeland and gives a brief picture of the conditions on the boat on which they escape.

The story continues with Sundara's struggles in Oregon. She has had no information about whether her parents and siblings are alive or dead. Furthermore, she feels responsible for the death of her infant cousin during the escape from Cambodia. A caring and handsome boy at school attracts Sundara, forcing her to decide whether to follow her Khmer customs that forbid her to spend time with him.

I read this book because it's on the list for the NCSLMA Battle of the Books. And I'm glad I did. The first chapter was a little difficult because of its foreignness--we live such comfortable lives, don't we. But Sundara becomes a compelling character, and I really enjoyed seeing how she and her family worked to weave together their past and present. And it was fun to recognize the references to Oregon climate, agriculture, and geography.

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A Wizard Alone by Diane Duane

In the sixth book in the Young Wizard's series, we find Nita lost in the numbing experience of grief and Kit assigned to investigate an Ordeal that is going on far too long for a new young wizard who happens to have autism.

A connection is made between the depression, weariness, and isolation that Nita feels, and Darryl's self-protecting isolation from a world that beats on his senses. Kit is able to journey into Darryl's mindscapes, with the help of his dog Ponch. (Like most pets of wizards, Ponch is developing some interesting and somewhat mysterious abilities.)

Danger arises as Kit soaks up some of Darryl's autism and as Kit gets caught up in the trap that Darryl has set for the Lone Power. This whole situation seems to shake Nita out of her indifference, and with her help, Kit and Darryl are able to stop the Lone Power's attacks on Darryl and escape to safety.

The story does a nice job exploring grief and autism, although Darryl's recovery from autism is a bit too much of a "happy ending." Not too realistic for folks actually dealing with autism, I'd say. I was glad to see that Kit and Nita seem to overcome the distance that had arisen between them in this and the previous book.

Now, I just need to find a copy of Wizard's Holiday

Ooh, I just found a cool web site: www.youngwizards.net It looks like it has information about the books and characters and discussion forums. I haven't looked at much of it, but it looks good so far.

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Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier

The story of a maid for the family of the Dutch painter Vermeer and who becomes the focal point of the quiet tensions of the household. I believe it is the author's idea of who the girl might have been who is the subject of the painting often called Girl with a Pearl Earring.

I picked this up on tape to listen to while driving to my class in Charlotte, and I really enjoyed it. I had read reviews from Powells.com's Review-a-Day service, and it had sounded pretty interesting. It was also nice to listen to while washing dishes and folding laundry, because a maid's life is obviously focused on such domestic tasks.

Griet's careful attenion to detail and awareness of color lead her first to the job of cleaning the artist's studio and eventually to grinding materials for his paints. She has been fascinated with Vermeer since she first meets him. She is willing to do whatever he asks, even when she knows it will disturb the mistress of the house and threaten Griet's position in the family. This all comes to a head when Vermeer paints Griet herself, an intimacy that his wife cannot accept when she finally learns of it. The story is a lovely quiet portrait of a girl who must negotiate the invisible lines of power that surround her while remaining as true to herself as possible.

One source of information about Vermeer and his paintings: Nicholas Pioch's WebMuseum on iBiblio
And more biographical information is available from the National Gallery of Art

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Wings by Terry Pratchett

This third book in the Bromeliad Trilogy continues the delightful characters and unusual nome point of view. Here are a few quotes from the first half of the book:

"No character in this book is intended to resemble any living creature of whatever size on any continent, especially if they've got lawyers." From the Author's Note

"You get more air close to the ground," said Angalo. "I read that in a book. You get lots of air low down, and not much when you go up."
"Why not?" said Gurder.
"Dunno. It's frightened of heights, I guess." (23)

Staring is one of the few things frogs are good at.
Thinking isn't. It would be nice to say that the tiny frogs thought long and hard about the new flower, about life in the old flower, about the need to explore, about the possibility that the world was bigger than a pool with petals around the edge.
In fact, what they thought was: .-.-.mipmip.-.-.mipmip.-.-.mipmip.
But what they felt was too big for one flower to contain. (33)

There was a polite beeping from the Thing.
"You may be interested to know," it said, "that we've broken the sound barrier."
Masklin turned wearily to the others.
"All right, own up," he said. "Who broke it?"
"Don't look at me," said Angalo. "I didn't touch anything." (33)

"We will pass through Immigration and Customs. Are you now, or have you ever been, a member of a subversive organization?"
Silence.
"What us? Why are you asking us that?"
"It is the sort of question that gets asked. I am monitoring communications."
"Oh. Well, I don't think we have. Have we?"
"No."
"No."
"No. I didn't think we had been. What does subversive mean?"
"The question seeks to establish whether you've come here to overthrow the government of the United States."
...
"Very clever idea, though."
"What is?"
"Asking the questions when people arrive. If anyone was coming here to do some subversive overthrowing, everyone'd be down on him like a pound of bricks as sonn as he answered, 'Yes.'"
"It's a sneaky trick, isn't it," said Angalo, in an admiring tone of voice.
"No, we don't want to do any overthrowing," said Masklin to the Thing. "We just want to steal one of their going-straight-up jets. What are they called again?"
"Space shuttles."
"Right. And then we'll be off. We don't want to cause any trouble." (67-68)

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Apology for pop-up ads

Well, this is a learning experience! The fine folks at Flooble did not make it clear that using their "free" Chatterbox would mean that visitors to my blog would get some "delightful" pop-up ads. They wouldn't be so very bad, if the ads in question were not of a mildly "adult" nature. I hope that you all have good pop-up blockers. Meanwhile, I'll be looking for another source for having a tagboard; I like having a way for visitors to share what they're reading.

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Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events

Okay, I finally watched the movie. And it wasn't bad. Anytime you try to put three books into one movie, you know you're going to lose something. I've stopped having very high expectations of books-turned-movies anyway. You really have to just appreciate them for what they are, rather than criticize every little difference from the books. If you want to enjoy them, anyway.

So it was interesting to see what they did keep, what they rearranged, and what they added. I've read the first three books in the series, and part of the fourth. Plus I've talked a bit with students who have read them all. So I realize that there is some conspiracy going on deeper than just Count Olaf wanting the Beaudelaire fortune. At least I think there is. Anyway, there were strong hints of that conspiracy in the movie. The trick is that we probably don't learn the full story on that until the thirteenth book, whereas they had to give some kind of wrap-up in the movie to have it end in a satisfactory way.

I did like all the actors. The kids--Emily Browning (Violet), Liam Aiken (Klaus), and Kara and Shelby Hoffman (Sunny)--were really quite good. They seemed better than the Harry Potter trio, actually. More natural, less halting. And Jim Carrey wasn't too over the top; he actually came across as Count Olaf, not just Jim Carrey being wild again.

So now I'm wanting to read more of the series to see how the conspiracy unfolds. The books are short enough that I'm going to reread from the beginning. I want to be sure to catch all the clues I can. I wonder if there are fan sites in which they catalog and debate every clue like Harry Potter fans do...I bet there are. I already found some fan sites for individual actors, like Liam Aiken.

Here's a few links that might be of interest:
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events -- official movie site
Internet Movie Database-- Information about the movie
Lemony Snicket-- the official web site for the author and the series

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Diggers by Terry Pratchett

I picked up Truckers, the first in The Bromeliad Trilogy by Terry Pratchett, on a visit to the Book Bin in Corvallis, Oregon. The cover, showing small people in the cab of a truck, was appealing. The story was even better. It's the story of a nome named Masklin whose little band of nomes is struggling for survival in the great outdoors. In desperation, Masklin leads his group, despite much dissension, onto the back of a human truck. This truck takes them to the Store where they find thousands of nomes who don't believe in the Outside. Well-established views of the world are challenged and stretched as these two groups meet and as they learn that they must leave the Store before it is demolished.

The way Pratchett portrays the point of view of these small, fast living creatures is one of the great delights of the books. Here's just a taste from Diggers: "Masklin's little tribe had once lived in a highway embankment beside rolling countryside that was full of things that were hungry for fresh nome. The idea that you could die simply of not being alive anymore was a new one to them." In Diggers, the nomes continue their attempts to create a home for themselves despite the challenges of Winter and the encroachment of humans. Only Masklin seems to realize that they have a destination much further on than they can even comprehend. I'll have to read the final book, Wings, to find out if they make it.

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