2009 booklist (how exciting)

So here I sit, a glass of metaphorical champagne in hand, and contemplating this year's book list. I, Rahina McWethy, have read fourty books this year, and am now going to bore everybody with a nice juicy list of them.

The Well of the Unicorn - Fletcher Pratt

Pratt was a contemporary of Tolkien, and a historian. So this fantasy is surprisingly sane, with a greater emphasis on battles and sieges than spellcasting. The archaic style is off-putting, but I found it refreshingly different.

The Norse Myths - Kevin Crossley-Holland

Retellings of a bunch of Norse myths. Other than the druggy imagery, total lack of morality in the Gods' actions and flat characterizations, I suppose I was entertained.

Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians - Brandon Sanderson

About as silly as it sounds. Lots of snark, so you're guaranteed at least one good laugh every chapter. Wonderful narrator and a plot that keeps you turning pages frantically. I had a lot of fun with this book.

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane - Kate DiCamillo

One of my favorite authors, this dark little story is of a selfish china rabbit passed from owner to owner, who slowly learns how to love. And consequently gets his heart broken. Complimented by beautiful illustrations.

Wolf Brother - Michelle Paver

Nothing deep, just a rip-roaring fantasy set in prehistory. I tore through it.

By These Ten Bones - Clare B. Dunkle

An incredibly gothic horror story. Werewolves in Scotland, set in a time when everyone believed in monsters. Dripping atmosphere. Grisly murders, romance, self-sacrifice... This has it all.

War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy

I can't really count this one, since the reading dates took me from April 2008 to March 2009. But this year's when I finished it, so this is where it goes. Simply the greatest novel ever written. Save yourself the trouble and skip the epilogues though.

Beauty That Must Die - Barbara James

Nominally a "gothic novel," but useless at it. More along the lines of romantic suspense. A bit of a murder mystery, with an actress the heroine suspects was having an affair with her husband getting killed. She goes poking about trying to solve the murder and win her husband back. A quick, entertaining trifle.

The Book Thief - Markus Zusak

Set in Nazi Germany, narrated by Death, this is of course a very dark read. But brimming with humanity, full of characters I truly cared about. It packed an emotional wallop and was intensely evocative. No real plot, just the story of a girl who learns to read living from day to day. I thought it was beautiful.

The Trimmed Lamp and Other Stories - O. Henry

Henry was a great storyteller. Humorous and quirky, clearly a fan of New York City, and a master at twist endings. The formula does wear thin after a while, but until then, I was entertained.

Poison Study - Maria V. Snyder

One of the best fantasies I've ever read. It got everything right, from characters to worldbuilding, getting plot, magic system, emotional resonance, pacing and writing down pat. Flawless.

The Shell Seekers - Rosamunde Pilcher

My mind still boggles at this one. Mainstream women's entertainment - not at all my style. And it proves that a good author can pull off anything, even an epic family saga with star-crossed lovers tossed in. I'm still amazed at how good this was.

By Fire, By Moonlight - Mary Stanton

Book 4 in an ancient kids series called Unicorns of Balinor. Read on a whim, took next to no time, and that is also how long I continued to think about it. Can't remember much about it now. Had unicorns in it, I think...

Close Kin - Clare B. Dunkle

Sequel to The Hollow Kingdom, which I read last year and adored. This was a worthy successor, almost as good as the previous one. Part of one of my favorite trilogies.

The Beginning - Skyla Dawn Cameron

Part one in a hokey sounding e-serial called Children of the Apocalypse. This first story is somewhat action-orientated, but is really driven by character evolutions. Skyla is a very talented author when it comes to characters and dialouge.

The Immortal - Skyla Dawn Cameron

Sequel to the above book. Longer, far more complicated, and therefore, in my opinion, the better of the two.

I, Coriander - Sally Gardner

Great fantasy imagery, but really awkward pacing. Black and white characters, and just a so-so plot. My hopes were too high for this one.

In the Coils of the Snake - Clare B. Dunkle

Last in The Hollow Kingdom trilogy, and a wonderful wrap-up. An integral character dies in the beginning, yet Clare keeps her head above water and makes this a tour de force on level with the other two. Great moral questions too.

The Party and Other Stories - Anton Chekhov

Too much of this guy can really bring you down... But despite that, I mostly enjoyed this set. A Trifle From Life, A Woman's Kingdom and The Kiss were the best of the lot.

Haunted Heirloom - Marjorie Eatock

One of those rare gothics that takes its time with the set-up, and doesn't throw everything at you at once. Very plausible, much more suspenseful than most, and with a really good setting. The ending completely flakes out and is a mess, but up 'till that, it was one of the best of the genre.

The Ruby in the Smoke - Philip Pullman

A mystery set in Victorian England, containing an intrepid heroine with a mysterious past, a stolen ruby, opium dens, an irredeemably evil old hag, and a likable supporting cast. It started out perfectly, yet for some inexplicable reason, wound down as it went. Good, but not brilliant. Again with the too high expectations...

A Wrinkle in Time - Madeleine L'engle

Famous. Won a Newbery medal. Adventures in time and space, demanding a surprising amount from the imagination and giving great rewards. Short, thought-provoking, charming and a bit dated.

Bozo the Woodchuck - .....forgot the name.....

Being very bored one fine summer day, I picked up this deservedly forgotten childrens book and read it. Cute woodchuck does endearing things while looked after by a score of humans spouting incredibly wooden dialogue...

The Master of Ballantrae - Robert Louis Stevenson

A ripping good yarn. Short and dense, and rather ignored minor classic. Covers a lot of ground, keeps you turning pages, and despite a predictable setup, quickly goes in unexpected directions...

A Wind in the Door - Madeleine L'engle

Sequel to A Wrinkle in Time. Or rather a companion, since the events of that installment seem to have been completely forgotten by the Murray family. Nevertheless, it contains the same set of pros and cons.

Magic Study - Maria V. Snyder

Sequel to Poison Study, and almost its equal. But in the last quarter it becomes action-orientated, Yelena becomes almost superhumanly powerful, banter replaces character interaction and all problems are resolved with off-putting ease. Rather diminished my enthusiasm to read book three.

In Watermelon Sugar - Richard Brautigan

Really short, unbelievably odd story. Almost plotless, but very readable. Weirdest thing I've ever read. Seemingly pointless, but thought-provoking. I'm glad I read it. I guess.

Anna of Byzantium - Tracy Barrett

Historical fiction about Anna Comnena. Heavily fictionalised account of her life, and rather uneventful. It gave me a slight interest in the time period, and had evocative narration, but it didn't really stay in my head after I finished it.

Ravenscroft - Dorothy Eden

Eden is one of the best writers of gothic suspense. It certainly benefits this book. Unfortunately, all the characters are dislikable. Our heroine is an elitist, opinionated bitch, her nice sister goes insane under stress, the hero is repugnantly cold, the servants are scheming devils, etc. Not recommended.

The Oxford Book of Narrative Verse - Chosen by Iona and Peter Opie

An excellent introduction to poetry, as every one of these selections (some edited down from larger texts) tells a story. Humor, romance, adventure, murder, the supernatural... It's all here. Some works aren't much to talk about (The Rape of the Lock bored me near death), but it's pretty good overall.

Lassie Come-Home - Eric Knight

I wasn't expecting much, given the slow start, but once Lassie starts out on her famous travels, it really got going. Mr. Knight really brings out the incredible hardship of her cross-country trek, and has her behave as a real dog, not like the wonderdog pop culture transformed her into. Deserves to be remembered as a classic dog story.

How to Learn Another Language - Barry Farber

A very convincing portrait of how and why to learn another language. Made me almost believe I could, and Barry has a wonderful sense of humour that makes it worth reading just for entertainment. It didn't manage to convert me, as I lost a friend shortly upon completion. Naturally, that rather took the wind out of my sails for learning French or Latin... Maybe someday.

Never Trust a Dead Man - Vivian Vande Velde

A weekend read. Short little fantasy. A mystery in which a condemned man summons the spirit of the man he's been accused of murdering, to snuff out the real killer. Unfortunately, the dead man doesn't know who did it either. A comedy adventure

Standing in the Light - Mary Pope Osborne

One of the seemingly endless books in the Dear America series. Told via a girl's diary, it details the story of her capture by Indians and intergration into their society. Surprisingly realistic character development, and also quite dark for this sort of thing.

The Autobiography - Benjamin Franklin

I actually read this twice (second time out loud to my brother), so one could argue I read 41 books this year. But whether or not, this was marvelous, even in its unfinished state. Franklin could tell great anecdotes, was very intelligent and had a perfect sense of humour. Highly enjoyable.

Dracula - Bram Stoker

You bloggers already know my opnions on this one. See [Dracula notes].

No Blade of Grass - John Christopher

An apocalypse novel from the seventies. Impossibly well done. Kept me turning the pages, had a surprisingly dynamic (not to mention amoral) cast, and a plausible reaction to a really bad situation. Good writing too.

Pudd'nhead Wilson - Mark Twain

Again, I won't take space and repeat myself. See [A problem].

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - J. K. Rowling

Oh my GOD, does Ms. Rowling need an editor. Yet it is impressive, that she manages to make something so overstuffed with periphory details as readable as this book was.

The Annotated Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens

See [A fine ode to benevolence].

Moonage Daydream - David Bowie and Mick Rock

In a fit of depression, I sat down one evening and read this cover to cover. Not that that's much to boast about, since it's mostly pictures. A chronicle of sorts, looking at the entirety of Bowie's Ziggy Stardust era in pictures. Bowie himself provides a great set of rather humourous memories of the time. Good information is included.


If you're still here after that, I'm very impressed. So, we have reached the metaphorical twelve o'clock, and I have ranted as much as I'm going to today. Cheers. (Smashes champagne glass in the fireplace)

Happy New Year, and thank God for the old one.

A fine ode to benevolence

I'm now going to review A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.

My version of this timeless classic is Annotated, which I would certainly recommend as the ideal binding. There are a surprising number of "slang" terms of the time, and the footnotes can come in handy, I felt.

I won't summarise the story, since everyone ought to know it by now. But even if you know everything, and sneer at Tiny Tim as sentimental and the character transformation of Scrooge as implausible, I really would advise you to read the story before you condemn it. I was quite surprised by its enjoyability.

One doesn't think of Dickens and fantasy as going together, does one? But this story proves he had a fine, vivid imagination in that direction, and hence the supernatural is effortlessly crafted. Imagery for Marley and the Three Spirits is sublime, each one seeming to outdo the last.

The other key set of descriptions in this story is that of Dickens' London. A superb creation. The imagery of Christmas is beautifully evoked, what with mouth-watering descriptions of a streetmarket and economically elegant passages devoted to bleak coastal celebrations...

The prose isn't perfect, of course. Each chapter bulges with at least a few overactive details, and sometimes the wording is garbled and in need of editing. And in terms of plot and character, Dickens famed sentimentality does intrude from time to time - such as in the character of Belle (the Angel of the House) and during the Fezziwig ball scene.

Yet what does it matter? Despite these flaws, A Christmas Carol is marvelous. To begin with Scrooge and see it all happen with him, is in a way, to take part in that redemption as well. I found his transformation entirely plausible, and by the time I reached the final act, I shared his joy entirely. Happiness radiated from the pages, and I finally understood why this is considered such a timeless part of the Christmas tradition.

(By the way, has carolling and busking died out in the modern era? Sad if it has.)

Let's talk about Christmas...

Just for a minute.

When you take away the tree, presents, tunes and snow, what is left? It's all about peace on Earth and good will toward men, but I view it as a great deal more about festivities. You eat good food, invite your favorite relatives around, watch a classic film (more on them in a bit), delight the children with toys and treats, decorate the house and sing "Here Comes Santa Claus" alongside Elvis Presley. You're really happy and that puts you in a frame of mind to give good will toward men and all that.

People care about this holiday more than the rest. It's an icon of the whole year. But what I wonder is can you take all the trappings away and still keep Christmas? Does it work without tradition, family, merchandise and ornamentation? This is philosophy. If you don't celebrate a holiday, does it still exist? If you ignore or can't manage the extras, is it enough to cherish your family, have good will toward all, love thy neighbour and forgive those who have hurt you? Does that mean you have upheld the Christmas Spirit in your home? Does that mean, despite the lack of extras, you have had a good holiday?

I've seen four classic Christmas films now, and they all go in eerily similar directions.

The Bishop's Wife, in which an angel comes to remind the Bishop that he's mixed up his priorities, paying more attention to his job than his sad, neglected wife.

Miracle on 34th Street, in which a man who claims to be Santa Claus befriends a workohaulic mother and her jaded little girl and battles corporate greed.

A Christmas Carol (with Alastair Sim), in which a miserly old man is visited by ghosts who show him his wasted life, the sad state of affairs currently, and the tragic consequences that will follow if he doesn't mend his ways.

It's a Wonderful Life, in which a selfless, kind man in utter despair of his life is sent an angel to show him what the world would be like without him.

All four of these are wonderful films. Ah well. I can't solve this question right now. And I promised not to take up too much time, so.. Rant done. Maybe after Christmas, I'll have more evaluating, and even some conclusions...

A problem

I'm afraid everybody who reads my blogs (all one of you) are going to have a link for your next review. Blogger doesn't let me copy in a review writ elsewhere. You can see the font problems my last import had.

So, my review for Pudd'nhead Wilson will be found at LibraryThing. But unfortunately, I can't paste in a link either. So that's that. If you really want to read my review, you'll have to go to LibraryThing and look up the book there. My review is under the name Nymith.

Cheers.

Dracula notes

Since autumn of 2007 I have embarked upon the reading of classic novels... I'd read those typical of children before then, but with The Mayor of Casterbridge, I was gone and never looked back. I have since read War and Peace, a decent supply of Chekhov and O. Henry, The Master of Ballantrae by Robert Louis Stevenson, and I have the beginnings of a knowledge of poetry. I freely admit to meeting Waterloo with Henry James' The Ambassadors... I'm also in the process of reading my way through the Harvard Classics (which will give me a fine education, I'm sure) and have recently completed Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography.

This brings me up to date. My most recent conquest in this enjoyable campaign is Bram Stoker's Dracula.

When I picked this book up, I was expecting a rather dated Victorian potboiler. Trite, tame, tepid, turgid... I was pleasantly surprised to find it anything but.

Even if you've never read the book, and never seen even a clip from a film (which isn't very likely), chances are good you still know the Transylvanian Count. As a joke, if nothing else. He is simply iconic.

There is nothing deep about the novel. It's not a character-driven morality play, and it won't leave you with deep thoughts. It's meant as entertainment, and does its job very well. Told via journals (which Stoker does an admirable job of creating seperate voices for), it traces the story of Dracula as he moves to London and preys upon two virtuous, angelic young women - Lucy Westenra and her friend Mina Murray. A band of young men join forces to try and save the ladies, though it isn't until halfway through the book that they finally realise they're fighting vampires. This group consists of Jonathan Harker, Mina's fiance; Lord Godalming, the same for Lucy; Quincey Morris, an american; Dr. Seward, who runs an insane asylum; and the elderly Van Helsing, the shrewd professor with the broken english and cryptic advice...

This appealing cast is one of the most enjoyable things about the book, especially in regard to the movies. Whether it's Tod Browning or Hammer Horror, when adapted for the screen half the characters are ignored and the rest have their personalities all but removed. The films can't help themselves. They tamper with an excellent, very intricate plot; they simplify the narration; and those actions take away from the menace and dread Dracula should inspire. Truly I don't think I'll ever be able to watch another Dracula movie ever again.

The plot is the real draw. It can be divided into roughly four sections, and three of them are simply marvelous. For three quarters of the novel, there are so many small nuances (Renfield being the best example, and also the dead ship), so many tales within tales that the pages are turned frantically to see what's coming next. There's a surprising lack of the Count in these pages, and yet he permeates every occurence, a truly menacing, otherworldly villian.

Make no mistake, this is a gothic novel. At times it simply drips with atmosphere. Who would think the sight of the Count crawling out of a window could send a chill down your spine? The grotesque, the macabre, the bloodcurdling, the violent and the erotic all get their small moments in the spotlight.

Unfortunately, this isn't a perfect book. In the last quarter, Drac goes on the run, and much of the suspense that had been so excellently maintained is lost in this turn of events. Subtlety also dwindles, replaced by relentless melodrama, and the characters wax poetic about their internal agonies. There's a death scene - rendered a little trite by overwrought last words and Mina's inability to express the proper emotion toward this event. (The journalistic style does present a few problems like that. These people are all too handy at remembering very long speeches and they write in a way to heighten drama)

So perhaps the novel suffers a bit from the standards of the time. But even there, some differences are noticable. Mina adheres to the standard Angel of the House ideal, yet appears as the strong-willed heroine, resourceful and intelligent. Her high-flown wording taxes credulity a bit, but she reminds me of a better Rose Maylie (Oliver Twist).

Well, despite the ending, the journey there is well worth it. An appealing cast, an excellent style of narration, a very well crafted plot... The prose did get stuffy at points, but for the most part, it was definitely an asset. Not very realistic (my mother, a medical transcriptionist, tells me Lucy's blood transfusions were hopelessly inaccurate), but it makes for a wonderful entertainment. I'm glad to have made its acquaintance.


I'll be reading Mark Twain (Pudd'nhead Wilson) and Emily Dickinson next. Current Harvard is The Journal of John Woolman.