I'm really enjoying being a part of Sunday Salon. I'm finding it is helping me make more time for my reading and that makes me oh-so-happy! It has been a wonderful Sunday. Despite the fact that we are still technically in winter, the skies were an achingly light blue today with nary a fluffy cloud in sight. The sun was very warm and I've been wandering around without a sweater for the first time in ages. I only wish Sunday did not precede Monday. Blah.
And now to the reading!
This week I finished up Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
It was a good read, and so much better than its immediate predecessor. Of course the "shock" ending has lost its impact as it is several years since the book was published and I knew what was coming anyway, just as I know what is coming with the final Harry Potter book. Two thumbs up though - it was a very enjoyable tale. I think Ron gets most of the best lines. Case in point:
Hermione: I heard Dumbledore say that it is easier to forgive people when they are wrong than it is when they are right.
Ron: Sounds like the sort of mental thing Dumbledore would say.
That seriously made me laugh for ages. And also this gem from Harry:
Hermione: It's alright for you, the Death Eaters would have you as a member. You're not a 'mudblood'!
Harry: Oh yes, I'm sure we'd get along really well if they could stop trying to do me in all the time.
I paraphrased a little, but you get the point. I love it when books make me laugh out loud.
After Harry Potter I gave some thought to moving onto Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and even cracked it open, but I was right in my assessment last week - I need a little breathing room between installments of Harry Potter.
While I was on my holiday I picked up an omnibus of the first two books in Meg 'The Princess Diaries" Cabot's Heather Wells series - Size 12 Is Not Fat and Size 14 Is Not Fat Either.
I bought the omnibus (such a weird word that...makes me think of a really big bus) for $5.00 at a book sale figuring it would be good light and fluffy reading for the plane and it was! I'm not a big fan of "chick lit" and technically these books don't fall into that genre, but they are certainly light and fluffy, with a mystery twist. Heather Wells is an ex-pop star (think a flash in the pan teen pop tart who sang in shopping malls a lot) whose label and boyfriend dropped her when she said she wanted to sing her own songs and her Mom ran off to Argentina with all her money. Heather is endearing, and I really enjoyed reading about a girl who battles weight issues and isn't afraid to order double whipped cream on her coffee. I also admit that I stayed with the books mainly because of Heather's sexy yet distant room mate Cooper. Anyway, I had to leave the omnibus in Scotland as a donation to the library at the Cathedral of the Isles as it was just too heavy to bring home. When I got back I checked into whether or not there were any other Heather Wells books and found "Size Doesn't Matter" (aka "Big Boned" in the USA. I have never understood why publishers change titles from country to country. Did you know that the book entitled "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" in the USA is actually titled "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" in the UK and Australia? Why?).
Anyway, I finished up "Size Doesn't Matter" this morning. It was probably the weakest of the three books and the ending was sort of bizarre. Without giving too much away, I would have settled for a kiss between Cooper and Heather, instead of the whole enchilada. I half expected to read "And then Heather woke up" it was all so picture perfect and out of place. Anyway, I read on Meg Cabot's official site there will be 2 more Heather Wells books next year so we'll see what happens. I don't know that I'd rush out and buy them in hardcover, but I'd definitely pick them up at the library.
Today I moved onto Book Lover by Jennifer Kaufman and Karen Mack.
The review on the website of publisher Harper Collins Australia reads like this:
'Women do different things when they're depressed. Some smoke, others drink, some call their therapists, some eat ... And I do what I have always done – go off on a book bender that can last for days.'
Whenever she's in crisis – her marriage ends, her career stalls, her fantasy man shows signs of human frailty – Dora (named after Eudora Welty) escapes into not one, not two, but a carefully selected stack of books, shutting the door on the outside world until she emerges from her book binge strong enough to face her problems. Books have always been her saving grace, sheltering her during a difficult childhood and arming her with lessons and epigrams that are right for nearly every situation. But life is more complicated than a–book–a–day, and people – like her ex–alcoholic mother and judgmental sister – aren't as compliant as beloved characters in a novel ...
Whether she's being seduced by a quotation–quipping Quixote, or explaining death to a child by reading from 'Charlotte's Web', Dora is Every–reader, and her charming story, shot through with humour and humanity, will delight anyone who's ever sought solace in the pages of a book.
I'm about 50 pages in and I have my doubts. I actually saw this book on the shelves at Borders last weekend and made a note to request it at the library. I requested it earlier this week and it came in super fast. I picked it up yesterday and then had a weird feeling that I actually owned the book. I double checked my shelves and there it was. Weirdly, I am reading the library copy instead of my own (what's up with that?). Nothing much has really happened so far (the main character went to a bookstore, parked outside her old mansion where her ex-husband lives and had her sister come over to her condo). Maybe the problem is it's the product of two authors - how does that work? Does one do the grunt work and the other the polishing? Do they each write a chapter? Anyway, I was definitely drawn to this book as I love books and could easily retreat from the world and stay in a book induced coma for days... We'll see how it goes.I'm also keen to finish His Dark Materials (aka The Golden Compass) as I have the 3 book omnibus (I swear I have only bought about 3 omnibuses in my life and I happen to be talking about 2 of them in this post...) and want to move onto the second book. Maybe I'll get to it this week, if not then next weekend for sure.
The final word goes to my golden retriever Hopie, who seems to have inherited my love of books!
Happy reading!
6 comments:
I did like this HP book. However, HP 3 and 4 are my favourites!
Do check out my Sunday Salon posts :D
SS 1: Review of The Dark Child
SS 2: Musings about books
I promised myself I would re-read the whole HP series this summer, but somehow have never got round to it - it's been a busy summer, I suppose. When you talked about the woman going on a book bender I thought you were going to say she went off and bought books. That's always my way of cheering myself up. Funny, but my bank manager never seems to agree that it's a good idea!
I love the HP series. I've never read Meg Cabot myself. Great post, happy Sunday.
cute doggie too!
http://thebookworm07.blogspot.com/
Monday's do seem to come all too fast, don't they? I'm trying not to think of tomorrow just yet. Sunday's just beginning for me and I have the entire day to savor.
The Harry Potter books are so much fun. I do hope to reread them again one day, closer together so I can get a better feel of how closely the books are tied together.
Dora sounds like my kind of gal! Reading is good for so many different things. It's too bad the book isn't more enjoyable.
Hopie sure looks comfortable! Great photo.
Have a great week and happy reading!
What I love about HP is that for the time you are reading, life stands still and all is good. I too would like the time to re-read the entire series.
Check out my Sunday Salon :-)
Have a great week...love your dog.
Nice blog. Good reviews
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