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Hours read/blogging: 39 hours, 10 minutes

Number of books read: 18

Number of pages read: 4025

WARNING: I am reviewing series books. While this review contains no spoilers for this book, it probably contains spoilers for previous volumes in this series. It’s the nature of the beast.

Princess on the Brink Meg Cabot

Michael has invented a robot that will do heart surgery without having to crack open someone's chest. Only he had to go to JAPAN for OVER A YEAR to get it up and running. He needs to prove to the world and to Mia's family that he's worthy of a princess. It's his quest, but Mia's not handling it well... especially when he tells her that he's sick of cold showers so not being around her all the time without doing IT might make his life a little easier.

So maybe it's time to give him her Precious Gift (just the fact she calls it that shows she's so not ready yet) and then he'll change his mind and stay in New York.

I hate J.P.-- I'll add thoughts on this later if still necessary after reading the next book... Read the rest of this post

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Hours read/blogging: 35 hours

Number of books read: 15

Number of pages read: 3619

WARNING: I am reviewing series books. While this review contains no spoilers for this book, it probably contains spoilers for previous volumes in this series. It’s the nature of the beast.

Party Princess Meg Cabot

This one took me forever to read-- the lack of sleep started getting to me until I made another pot of coffee. Anyway!

Mia's student government is out of money 3 months before the end of the school year--which means they can't rent the graduation hall. Whoops. So, in order to raise the money without having to sell candles, schemes are put into motion. Lilly has a lit mag that she's calling Fat Louie's Pink Butthole, of all things. And Grandmere has written a musical about Genovian history and forcing Mia to play the lead.

And Michael's throwing a party. So he invited Mia (duh, girlfriend) but Mia's not a party girl and doesn't want to go. Whinge whinge whinge.

Ok-- WTF is with Mia moaning on about this party? SUCK IT UP. Michael would for you. Dude. It's 1 party on 1 night. I could understand if she were freaking out about what to wear or even the how to act aspect, but no, she just straight up doesn't want to go and is moaning about that.

Also, you can't Netscape something. Netscape is a browser, not a search engine, so you can't force it into being a verb, like we've made Google a verb. Because Google is a search engine, so you can look things up with it. You can access Google via Netscape, but you can't check Netscape for something. Ergh.

BUT! I love that Hermione and Ron are on Mia's list of couples you'd hate to see break up. Especially because this came out in 2006, before they were ever officially together. Even though we all knew it was coming. Even if Ron does have the emotional range of a teaspoon!

Ok-- 7 hours left...

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Hours read/blogging: 28 hours, 25 minutes

Number of books read: 12

Number of pages read: 3420

WARNING: I am reviewing series books. While this review contains no spoilers for this book, it probably contains spoilers for previous volumes in this series. It’s the nature of the beast.

Well, I'm not going to beat Midwestern Lodestar in books or page count (I must learn her secrets!) but maybe in hours? Let's not talk about how much coffee I've had to drink already... plus I've seen 2 sunrises this weekend... Anyway...

Princess in Pink Meg Cabot

All Mia wants is to go to prom with Michael, so why hasn't he asked her? Because he thinks prom is lame and doesn't want to go!!! Then, at her birthday dinner, a busboy trips over Rommel and gets fired for dumping soup over Grandmere. Lilly takes up the cause of the unjust firing, but then ends up chosing Jangbu (the busboy) over Boris (boyfriend of 8 months) for a rousing round of 7 Minutes in Heaven. And things go from bad to worse as the the busboys go on strike and most of New York's service unions join them... meaning it doesn't matter what Michael thinks about prom, as it's been canceled and everyone blames Mia.

Still funny! And this volume is still filled with the same self-constructed drama that wouldn't be an issue if Mia weren't so... 15. But there are some bigger things Mia has to deal with that don't have an easy out that her neuroses won't let her see.

Also, it's nice to see that sticking a spatula down your best friend's throat during a frosting-related fight is a recurring event in Cabot's books. (Also happened in the opening chapter of Allie Finkle. In this case, it's Mia remembering a fight she had with Lilly when they were kids.) Also Lilly... I don't know how I feel about her... she has a lot of negatives, and I'm not sure we've seen enough of her positives to balance those out yet... Read the rest of this post

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Hours read/blogging: 26 hours, 35 minutes

Number of books read: 11

Number of pages read: 2659

WARNING: I am reviewing series books. While this review contains no spoilers for this book, it probably contains spoilers for previous volumes in this series. It’s the nature of the beast.

Project Princess Meg Cabot

A short little vignette of a book about Mia's G/T plus a few students' trip to West Virginia for to build houses for a Habitat for Humanity-esque organization. Plus, Mia gets 5 whole days without her parents, Grandmere, or Michael's parents to always be around. Now, if only she weren't so sleepy and smelly...

Cute and short. I can see where this would be a nice volume to hold fans over while waiting for the next full-length installment.

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Hours read/blogging: 26 hours, 5 minutes

Number of books read: 10

Number of pages read: 2609

WARNING: I am reviewing series books. While this review contains no spoilers for this book, it probably contains spoilers for previous volumes in this series. It’s the nature of the beast.

Princess in Waiting Meg Cabot

I don't think I've mentioned this yet-- all these books start with a quotation from The Little Princess. It's awesome.

So... Mia's off to Genovia for Christmas, where she creates a minor political scandal when she starts saying that what they really need is parking meters. Also, she's trying to navigate her new relationship with Michael. Grandmere doesn't think he's the most suitable of consort, but if
Mia insists, she should at least play hard to get a la Jane Eyre. Now, there's one love affair I never understood. Had I not already known what was eventually going to happen, I would have been rather confused when they fell in love...

There's a lot of Mia-constructed does he love me or not drama. But you know it's a good book (or at least an engaging Character voice) when you don't mind reading 259 pages of whinging on about "does he love me like a friend or is he in love with me."

Also, I love the fact that Mia wears Queen Amidala underpants.

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Hours read/blogging: 21 hours, 25 minutes

Number of books read: 8

Number of pages read: 2098

WARNING: I am reviewing series books. While this review contains no spoilers for this book, it probably contains spoilers for previous volumes in this series. It’s the nature of the beast.

Princess in the Spotlight Meg Cabot

So, Mia's now totally in love with Michael and completely oblivious that he's in love with her too. Her mom's pregnant and getting married to Mr. G. And Grandmere wants to plan the wedding. And Mia's getting notes from a secret admirerer that couldn't be Michael... could it?

More hilarity ensues. I CAN NOT believe I haven't read this sooner. No wonder Lauren stared at me all agog when I said I hadn't a few months ago. Why haven't you people told me sooner?!!!!

Off to read more!

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Hours read/blogging: 17 hours

Number of books read: 6

Number of pages read: 1538

WARNING: I am reviewing series books. While this review contains no spoilers for this book, it probably contains spoilers for previous volumes in this series. It’s the nature of the beast.

Pure Dead Batty Debi Glori

And it all comes to a head as Baci gives birth, S'tan gives up on Isagoth, and Don Lucifer is determined to finish off his half-brother once and for all. Which means all forces of good and evil are converging on StergaSchloss at the same time. In a blizzard. Plus, there are literally wolves at the door. And in the kitchen.

With the exception of the first 50ish pages, the entire book read like one big climax, which was a bit draining, really. I did, however, enjoy the comic relief of Isagoth trying to deal with the stolen human baby. Also, why did Ffup's gestation take SO MUCH LONGER in these last 2 books than her 1st one did in book 3 (was it 3?)

Time for a new series!

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Hours read/blogging: 12 hours, 45 minutes

Number of books read: 5

Number of pages read: 1,227

WARNING: I am reviewing series books. While this review contains no spoilers for this book, it probably contains spoilers for previous volumes in this series. It’s the nature of the beast.

Pure Dead Batty Debi Glori

Well, the body count of the last few books has tipped off the big wigs down in Glasgow, so they've come and arrested Luciano as a serial murderer. Mrs. McLachlan is still missing, but mysterious clues keep turning up to give the family hope. (She's trapped in a place-out-of-time with Isagoth, slowly forgetting what she left behind.) Meanwhile, Damp is learning how to fly. Also, S'Tan has gotten unbelievably fat and little good, as the removal of the Chromostone from Earth means he can no longer use to it amp his power, so he's losing his evil touch and turning to food for comfort.

Well, it's going to be a showdown between Luciano and Lucifer, when all is said and done. These books are steadily less and less funny, and, as the universe is well-established, it loses it's zany factor, but I've formed an attachment to the characters and am looking forward to seeing what happens next!

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Hours read/blogging: 10 hours, 34 minutes

Number of books read: 4

Number of pages read: 934

WARNING: I am reviewing series books. While this review contains no spoilers for this book, it probably contains spoilers for previous volumes in this series. It’s the nature of the beast.

Pure Dead Trouble Debi Glori

S'Tan, head of Hades is not happy that the Chronostone is still missing. So when Isogoth, the head of Headean defense can trace it to StregaSchloss...

Everyone returns home from holiday to find Latch passed out on the floor, due to too much sulphur. And when the library has been gutted by fire and no one knows where the Alpha the Centaur is, Mrs. McLachen knows it's only a matter of time before she'll have to do serious battle to protect the Strega-Borgias.

No where near as funny as the earlier ones, as this is getting dark and more sequential.

Also, I don't think I've mentioned it yet, but I'm rather enjoying the illustrations, especially in this book-- it's fun to figure out what they're illustrations of as you read each chapter... Read the rest of this post

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Hours read/blogging: 7 hours, 30 minutes (I dozed off for a minute there)

Number of books read: 3

Number of pages read: 655

WARNING: I am reviewing series books. While this review contains no spoilers for this book, it probably contains spoilers for previous volumes in this series. It’s the nature of the beast.

Pure Dead Brilliant Debi Glori

This one's a bit darker as we flash back and forth in time, with the Strega-Borgia ancestors making a deal with the devil that promises the soul of every first born son. As Titus is about to turn 13, his time is coming. Meanwhile, Baci has invited all of her witch classmates to stay for the week, including a demon in disguise who has come to collect what Titus owes. And, it seems that Damp is more powerful than anyone imagined. And Ffup is a horrible mother.

Darker and more complicated, but still good.

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Hours read/blogging: 2 hours, 5 minutes

Number of books read: 1

Number of pages read: 182

Pure Dead Magic Debi Glori

High in the Scottish Highlands sits an Austrian castle with an Italian family. There's a boy obsessed with computer games, a girl, and a baby. Dad's just left and Mum's a wreck, so she hires a very no-nonsense nanny who makes good French Fries.

Of course, Dad's been kidnapped by his gangster half-brother and mum's back off to witch school and the nanny just happens to be a witch too.

And Pandora, the girl, accidentally shrunk Damp, the baby. And Titus, the boy, accidentally sent her off as part of an email attachment. Luckily, there's a spider who knows a thing or two about webs. Maybe then can all save Dad if a gung-weilding giant bunny doesn't kill them first.

Pretty silly, in a magic + high tech thriller + crazy sort of way. I'll be recommending this series quite often!

Off to read some more!

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Some books feel like friends from the very beginning. Such is the case with Isaac Asimov's novel, Foundation. This book was originally the first in a series of Foundation novels. (However, Prelude to Foundation has since been published.) The novel is composed of five sections. Four of these sections were originally published separately and appeared as short stories in Astounding Magazine between 1942 and 1944. They were later compiled together into one volume in 1951 alongside a newly written introduction section, and thus Foundation as we know now it was published. (Does any of that matter? Not really. I didn't read the details on the publishing history until after I read it. But as an after note, I was intrigued by it. So I thought I'd share it with you.)

For twelve thousand years the Galactic Empire had ruled supreme. Now it was dying. But only Hari Seldon, creator of the revolutionary science of psychohistory, could see into the future--a dark age of ignorance, barbarism, and warfare that would last thirty thousand years. To preserve knowledge and save mankind, Seldon gathered the best minds in the Empire--both scientists and scholars--and brought them to a bleak planet at the edge of the Galaxy to serve as a beacon of hope for future generations. He called his sanctuary the Foundation.

But soon the fledgling Foundation found itself at the mercy of corrupt warlords rising in the wake of the receding Empire. Mankind's last best hope was faced with an agonizing choice: Submit to the barbarians and be overrun--or fight them and be destroyed.

What can I say about Foundation without giving too much away? It is one of those rare books where it's best not to know. Best not to have preconceived notions of what it's all about. Best not to think too much about what it's saying and where it's going. It's best to just go along for the ride on this one.

The settings? Various planets. The characters? Too many to list. The plot? Complex but not difficult to follow. Each section of the book is separate from the whole. Most are divided by time. Between sections, thirty years, eighty years, fifty years, a hundred years could have passed. The reader picks up hints here and there about how much time has gone by. But this isn't a book where you follow characters around. This is more of a novel where ideas play the leading role.

If there is a cohesive theme to the novel it is manipulation. Whether passive or aggressive, Foundation is all about power struggles, manipulations, and getting others to do what you want when you want. It is all about ambition.

Do not look at this chart unless you want to confuse yourself. (Or you've read a good many of the books already.) For plot summary of the first novel, click here. For more information on the series as a whole, click here.

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Irving, Washington. Two Tales: Rip Van Wrinkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Illustrated by Barry Moser.

Perhaps I should be slightly embarrassed to admit this, but this was my first time actually reading both of these stories. My only familiarity with the stories coming through Wishbone in the first instance and a cartoon in the second. (I want to say Disney but I could be wrong.) So why now? Well, I is a difficult letter in the alphabet, AND I was desperate to read a book from the 1820s to complete my loop. Those two aren't great reasons to read a classic, but in all honesty, they were sufficient to motivate me at the library.

My impression of the book? Well, I enjoyed them both more than I thought I would. But that isn't necessarily saying much. The language is a bit archaic. Not desperately archaic. But without being *updated* I don't see many kids being able to read it smoothly. Even as a somewhat well-read, somewhat well-educated adult, there were words that in all honesty I had NO idea what they meant. And I would assume that like most readers, I was just too lazy to get up and get a dictionary so I just skimmed over them like they weren't even there. (To my credit, 11 at night isn't the best time to get up and go in search of a dictionary.) But I got the *main* ideas of both stories.

The first being a tale of a lazy man with a nagging wife falls into a magical sleep that does him not much practical good but at least rids him of his wife. I can't help but feel for the wife. ANY woman would get annoyed with a man who was THAT lazy and irresponsible. And doubly annoyed that he could at times be helpful to other families, other women, but ignored his own. So this tale doesn't really have a *moral* per se that would prove beneficial. Rip Van Wrinkle was lazy; he was happy to be lazy; he taught his son to be lazy; he liked being waited on hand and foot and the magical sleep just made that happen without the nagging.

The second being a tale of a rather comical school teacher, Ichabod Crane. Ichabod was a school teacher, a singing teacher, and a rather unsuccessful wooer. He wanted to win the heart of a lovely lady. But his competition was, well, the competition got the best of him in the end. Brom Bones. Practical joker extraordinaire. It was an entertaining story about a man who let himself be *scared* out of what he wanted. Can I blame him? Not really. Being chased by a "headless" man and then having aforementioned head tossed at him....would scare me out of town as well.

Overall, both stories were okay. But the artwork of Barry Moser just didn't do much for me. It seemed to date the book. It was originally published in 1984, and the book just looks and feels and smells dated. But in its defense, it was on the shelves while the newer versions of both tales (with better illustrations perhaps) were not. So it served its purpose.

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The minute I joined the Short Story Reading Challenge, I knew I wanted to read some Dorothy Parker. My introduction to Parker came in college in a literature class. We were assigned at various points two short stories. One was "Telephone Call" and the second was "The Waltz." These two remain my favorite of the ones I've read, but I would still recommend this whole collection. It contains 24 short stories by Dorothy Parker. These stories were originally published in 1939 under the title Here Lies.

What I love about Parker is how she portrays humanity--the good, the bad, the ugly. She captures nuances of humanity both personal and social. (Whether she's documenting the tortured, lonely soul or capturing the hidden layers of a relationship between two friends or two lovers or even the strain of family life.) The stories often contain commentary on social aspects of life--race, class, sex, etc.

Short stories include: "Arrangement in Black and White," "The Sexes," "The Wonderful Old Gentleman," "A Telephone Call," "Here We Are," "Lady With A Lamp," "Too Bad," "Mr. Durant," "Just A Little One," "Horsie," "Clothe the Naked," "The Waltz," "Little Curtis," "The Little Hours," "Big Blonde," "From the Diary of A New York Lady," "Soldiers of the Republic," "Dusk Before Fireworks," "New York to Detroit," "Glory in the Daytime," "The Last Tea," "Sentiment," "You Were Perfectly Fine," and "The Custard Heart."

I know I can't possibly hope to capture my reaction to all of the stories. I would have had to have been taking notes as I read each one. But I hope I can convey how much I appreciated the humanity, the attention to detail, the characterization. All the little things that added up to make each story work as a whole.

Here's how The Wonderful Old Gentleman begins, "If the Bains had striven for years, they could have been no more successful in making their living room into a small but admirably complete museum of objects suggesting strain, discomfort, or the tomb." (p. 241) Isn't that a great way to start a story? Isn't that a great hook? It continues a paragraph later, "It was as if they had all been selected by a single enthusiast to whom time was but little object, so long as he could achieve the eventual result of transforming the Bain living room into a home chamber of horrors, modified a bit for family use."

And here's the frantic but memorable beginning to "A Telephone Call," "Please, God let him telephone me now. Dear God, let him call me now. I won't ask anything else of You, truly I won't. It isn't very much to ask. It would be so little to You, God, such a little, little thing. Only let him telephone now. Please, God. Please, please, please." (254)

And perhaps my favorite, "The Waltz." "Why thank you so much. I'd adore to. I don't want to dance with him. I don't want to dance with anybody. And even if I did, it wouldn't be him. He'd be well down among the last ten. I've seen the way he dances; it looks like something you do on Saint Walpurgis Night. Just think, not a quarter of an hour ago, here I was sitting, feeling so sorry for the poor girl he was dancing with. And now I'm going to be the poor girl. Well, well. Isn't it a small world." (335)

The way she uses language (or she used language as the case may be) is such that it captures a time, a place, a feeling. It is like a photograph of the soul. Capturing the insanity, the loneliness, the confusion, the hope, whatever the feeling--whatever the situation. She's got it captured authentically in print.

Now a brief word about the poetry. The poetry was originally published in several volumes: Enough Rope, Sunset Gun, and Death and Taxes and Other Poems. While I didn't love every poem, I enjoyed enough of the poems to recommend it to others. I liked a good many. And there were a few that were just right. Perhaps I'll use a few in the upcoming weeks for Poetry Friday.

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A new challenge for 2008. Like I needed another one, right? Well, I just can't say no. And this one should be quite fun. The host is Kate of Kate's Book Blog. The challenge is The Short Story Reading Challenge. She lists five options for participants to choose from--ranging in commitment and flexibility. I'm going for option five. "Option 5: This is the custom option under the rubric of which you can tailor your reading list to best meet your personal reading aspirations. You might wish to craft a list that focuses on a particular place, or era, or genre."

I plan on reading a mix of individual short stories and short story collections. Zora Neale Hurston, for example, wrote many short stories. I'd love to read those. And Kate Chopin. And I'd love, love, love to read some Dorothy Parker. And this would be a great time to read some more Ray Bradbury. Even Orson Scott Card has a collection of short stories. And I bet they'd be other science-fiction collections as well. If memory serves me, H.G. Wells wrote short stories too. This is going to be me so much fun!!! I don't know how many or which authors yet. But I'll commit to at least twelve of something. (It could be, for example, four short story collections and eight individual stories.) Anyway, I'm very very happy to have stumbled across this challenge.

The challenge has its own website here.

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