Review: Midnight in Austenland

Title Midnight in Austenland
By Shannon Hale
Pages288
Recommended by Me


First sentence No one who knew Charlotte Constance Kinder since her youth would suppose her born to be a heroine.

Synopsis
When Charlotte's husband leaves her for another woman she decides to take a break. And what better place than a estate in England that offers a full on Austen-esque experience.

What it has going for it
I adore Shannon Hale's writing. She's so witty and clever and I'm always smiling as I read her books. This one was no exception and I loved getting to know Charlotte and watch her journey. What girl wouldn't want to go to Pembrook Park and be wooed by handsome gentlemen in austen-esque style? I love the idea of a place like this and it's one of my favorites to read about. This one wasn't just a rehashing of the first book, as I was worried it might be, but had a completely different MC that was just as endearing and fun to read about. With a fun mystery and dashing gentlemen I had a lot of fun.

What's lacking
I can't say what specifically bothered me without giving things away so I won't but "it" kinda weirded me out. The ending was a little too neat and tidy and I had a hard time getting into the mystery.

Yea or Nay?
Yes, especially to fans of the first book...or, of course, anything Austen.

Sunday Salon

Welcome to the new Sunday Salon. A weekly update post about my boring life. ;)

Weather Small Talk: Mildest winter EVER! I'm loving it!

On The Idiot Box: Besides The Vampire Diaries, I'm not totally engrossed with anything lately. Oh, I keep religiously watching my shows but I'm a little bored with things. :( I did rent the first season of the BBC's Being Human and watched it. Very....interesting/weird. 

Weekly Reads: Ugh, I'm not off to a great start with my adult books only month. I've started Midnight in Austenland by Shannon Hale and I'm liking it, but I'm too distracted to really get into it. 

Crazy Kitty: She insists on knocking all her toy balls all over my bedroom floor but once she's done she doesn't play with them. Maybe she just likes the way they look spread across the floor. They are colorful. 

This Week: Was boring! I exercised all week like a good little girl, though, and lost two more pounds. 

Movie of the Week: I finally watched Water For Elephants and for some reason thought it was going to be a horribly sad ending...WTH?! I know I should be glad it ended well, but I'm still so confused. 

Food Talk: :( I keep eating the same 6 meals over and over. They all taste fine and I'm not bored with them but I should probably come up with something new. Monotony kills! 

Soccer Sightings: Um, so I'm watching my game yesterday and couldn't help but notice how cold it looked. The wind was blowing and every player was wearing long sleeved shirts...all but Arbeloa, that is. Why would the undead need to keep warm?  Mwaa ha ha! 

Music Discoveries: Well, to be fair I only like the music, no singing. I just don't like rap. No Church in the Wild. 

Plans For The Week: Lot's of bookish things, I think. Rebecca Stead author of When You Reach me is coming to our local library and LTUE is this weekend. I've never been before but I think I'm going to some of it. 

And The Moral Of The Story Is...

You know how I'm slightly, just slightly picky about books? (I'll just wait for the laughter dies down before I continue, shall I?) Done? Alrighty then. Back to my point. See, when I was young, every time I read something, whether it was a article in a magazine, picture book, or full on novel, my mom would ask me what it was about and then ask me what the moral was; what was the author trying to get across. So, my whole life, no matter what I read, I was always looking for that hidden message or moral.

Fast forward to being an adult and attending a book club wherein we read A Wizard of Earthsea. I read it and saw all this deep meaning therein. Then, at book club, we watched an interview with the author, Ursula K Le Guin. And she informed a group of students that people were always asking her what message she was trying  to get across in AWOE. To my surprise she informed the students that she wasn't trying to say anything, she was just telling a story. She may have gone on to say something about the message being different for everyone but the thing that stood out to me was that she didn't write the book with a moral.

Well, that just blew me away! I'm not sure I even believe her. Whether she had some great message or not, don't you think some of her beliefs and opinions came through in the book? I certainly do but that's just me. I can't just read a book for the story. There needs to be some sort of point to it; some reason I just spent hours reading it. Even a light fluffy book usually has some little message in it. Or maybe the character just grows up a little, or learns something new about themselves or the world around them. But, again, that's just me I'm guessing. I'm also guessing that's why some books irritate me. Either they're without a moral or I don't like the moral. So sue me! ;)

So, what about you? Do you look for meaning or morals in books or read them just for the story?  And if you do read them just for the story please tell me why. Don't you want to learn something, even a tiny little something from that many pages and that much time? Because, yes, books are for escapism but aren't they better when you feel like you learned something or witnessed some growth that may or may not apply to you? Don't some of the books we love the most become favorites because we related to a character or situation so deeply?

Help me out here people. What kind of reader are you? And please, expound. ;)

January Wrapup

Another month has come and gone and a new year has begun. In January I managed to read 9 books. Whoohoo! Shush! That's good for me. Anywho, here's what I read a what I thought.

Inheritance (Inheritance 4) by Christopher Paolini
Little bit of a slow start but then, wow! Great ending to a great series.

Infinity (Chronicles of Nick 1) By Sherrilyn Kenyon
Gee, I wonder how much crap can be going on at once?!

Don't Stop Now by Julie Halpern
Fun little road trip book with an honest ending.

Jessica's Guide To Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey
Amusing little story with an ending just a little too rushed.

Looking For Alaska by John Green
Reads more like a self analysis exercise. Ugh!

I Capture The Castle by Dodie Smith
A sweet, fun story.

Cinder (Lunar Chronicles 1)  by Marissa Meyer
An amazing twist on the classic fairy tale. Thoroughly awesome!

Everneath (Everneath 1) by Brodi Ashton
A unique exciting story but slightly disappointing characters.

The Adoration of Jenna Fox (Jenna Fox Chronicles  1) By Mary E. Pearson
An engrossing, thought provoking story littered with symbolism.

I'm actually impressed with how many I liked this month! Pretty sad that usually I read so many that are duds for me. My favorites of the month were Inheritance and Cinder. Least favorites and only ones I didn't like were Infinity and Looking For Alaska. Not too shabby, huh?

Review: The Adoration of Jenna Fox

Title The Adoration of Jenna Fox (Jenna Fox Chronicles 1)
By  Mary E. Pearson
Pages 266
Recommended by Me


First sentence I used to be someone.


Synopsis
When Jenna Fox wakes up from a coma she's told she was in an accident. As she struggles to regain her memories she finds out more than she wanted to know about the accident and how far her parents were willing to go for their adoration of her.

What it has going for it
One word: Engrossed! I was so freaking engrossed the whole time I read this book; it only took two sittings. The writing style was perfect for the story, with short simple sentences. I was fascinated with the depth of the book. See, in my opinion, this wasn't a story, not really, but rather a treasure trove of symbolism. There's so many ideas and questions and discussions on ethics to be had. It's a book that deserves not only to be read but pondered and discussed. You can't NOT discuss this book. I even bought it for my sister so she could read and discuss with me! I'm still reeling with the thoughts and feeling this one provoked.

What's lacking
And now you're going to laugh at me. I'm not a huge fan of symbolism; I think it's too flashy and pretentious. Just tell me what you mean! I did think it worked very well for this story, though, so I'm not really complaining about that. The only thing that bothered me was I'm still not sure I ACTUALLY liked the book. Oh, it had me thinking and pondering but did I like where the characters ended up? Did I like what was concluded and not concluded in the end? I don't know! See why I'm frustrated? That's what I hate about symbolism, it messes with your head! I'll read the second book, but I think it's going to be more of an actual story and less of this deep all consuming symbolism. Whether that's a good thing or not, I'm just not sure.

Yea or nay?
Yes, if for nothing else then to open your mind to all the ideas and questions this book presents. And it was engrossing, after all. ;)