Follow the Dark Tower imaginatorium

     It takes a certain amount of imaginatorium to create a world that is not our own within our own minds. It takes a greater amount of imaginatorium to situate readers into the world, to make it believable, to make it alive, and to make it be a place that we might want to reside. To praise Tolkien for Middle Earth may be beating a dead horse to an even greater death but the brilliancy and history that lies within the pages of The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and all the companions to the stories suggest that Tolkien is a master of imaginatorium. But being a master and in control of the fate of a world brings with it great responsibility. It requires a thorough telling, finding stories within the world to keep people interested and to know enough about the world to find new imaginatorium to share.
     With all that being said, it's a rarity that I attempt to read an entire series in succession with no breaks in between to read other things. The Lord of the Rings may be one of the few series I have done that with and there were only three books to read. But the month of November led me to the Dark Tower series by Stephen King. My goal was to read through all seven books within the month. However, business overtook me and I only made it through three of them but even then, I could feel an overwhelming sense of needing to pull myself out of the series just for a time to take a breath.
     Now let me address the reference to Tolkien before I go much further. In the new forward written by Stephen King, he gives credit to Tolkien as an inspiration for him to write his own epic story of fantasy and as far as I'm concerned, what he set out to do, he accomplished. The Dark Tower series follows Roland, the Gunslinger, the last of his kind on an epic journey to the Dark Tower. Although he is  unsure of what he will find or really what lies for him in the Dark Tower, that is his quest to journey across the Mid World to the Tower. Along the way, he comes across companions, Jake, Eddie, and Susannah, who slowly make Roland's quest a quest of their own.
    Although I only got through the first three books, I will continue the rest of the series because I did enjoy it. The first book, The Gunslinger, follows Roland as he's chasing after "the Man in Black" while searching for the Dark Tower. The books brings about more questions than answers as Roland's past and his upbringing are addressed but yet not fully stated. As he journeys, Roland meets a young boy named Jake who becomes his companion before he is sacrificed along the journey. In the end, Roland meets with the Man in Black who essentially warns him of his future and what lies ahead. Book Two, The Drawing of the Three, introduces Eddie and Detta/Odetta to Roland, two people from our world who are mysteriously and magically drawn into Roland's world and come alongside him in the journey. The third,The Wasteland, is the continuing journey of the three to the Dark Tower as they draw closer and also regain a companion, Jake. How he fits back into the story is unique and clever and a spoiler I won't delve into it.  The third book ends with a cliff hanger and I'm look forward to seeing where the series leads.
      As a fan of fantasy, I appreciate authors who have created their own worlds and histories within that world. What was interesting about this series was the mixture of modern Earthly things and the fantasy aspect. Books, songs, and references from our world have seeped into Mid World, besides just the people who join Roland. King adds modern technology like trains, planes and robots to a world that appears more Old West than anything else. Stories from our world come alive and twist in Roland's world which allows for an interesting cross cultural, cross world meeting point.  The three companions enter Roland's world from New York City at three different times in history, each having some kind of connection to each other in various ways.
       King does an excellent job of making the books multi-layered, throwing in obstacles for the characters, and creating his own world in which these characters operate. I won't go into much more detail as to not give up valuable plot points. But the series is definitely worth a read. The first book I definitely found the least dense and also the most flowery. King, in the forward, even explains the pretend pretentiousness that he had when he began the series. The second book, although begins in Roland's world, spends more time in our world as we meet Eddie and Odetta/Detta for the first time and then the third goes back to spending most of the time in Roland's world but bumping into Jake's at the same time. The books do get increasingly more intricate as the characters intermingle and the world of Roland the Gunslinger opens up. For what it's worth, the first and third were great, the second one wasn't my most favorite although it's essential for the series and the plot.
         My introduction to Stephen King has only been through a few of his "lighter" horror novels so I was excited to read something that was more fantasy than horror. It is a different kind of series for Stephen King and certainly a great amount of imaginatorium emanates from it as well. It's is a series I would recommend. There is a bit of language for forewarning but the world is well worth a trip. I believe I've had more conversations with various people when I was reading them then I have had with many other books and conversations that others have started with me because they've enjoyed the series themselves.  Give them a read and join Roland the Gunslinger and his quest for the Dark Tower.

Next Month: Sequels. Mostly due to the fact that I want to continue with the Dark Tower series, there are several books I've read over the course of the year which are merely the first in the series. I believe it's time to dive back into some of the best imaginatorium series of the past year.

The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King
The Gunslinger
The Drawing of the Three
The Wasteland
 

Before there were computers imaginatorium

     It was a time before long before facebook overtook the world. It was a time before computers, mobiles, talking films and other such modern conveniences we know and depend on. It was before the American Dream was fully conceptualized and before the world had seen even one World War. But the authors who wrote before all these things understood some valuable truths. They wrote about life, about issues that invaded society and those issues still carry weight and relevance today. The fact that many of these works have survived over the years is a testament not only to the story, but also to their style of writing and their voice.
     The month of October became books written before 1900. This stemmed mostly from not being able to finish all the books I wanted during my Gilmore Girls month. Although I didn't get through a ton of literature, I ended up with three fantastic authors; Charles Dickens, Arthur Conan Doyle, and Victor Hugo.
     Despite having read Oliver Twist and A Christmas Carol, not to mention having seen dozens of different productions and adaptations of these works, I never read A Tale of Two Cities. The opening being as famous as it is, I was eager to dive in it. Understanding the depression that pervades much of Charles Dickens' other works, I assumed that A Tale of Two Cities would fall into the same category, which it did. The book takes on an epic scope, spanning across the two cities (surprise!) of London and Paris. We watch as Dickens takes us back and forth between the two cities as a trial unfolds, a revolution occurs and the happy endings of some characters are forever forgotten.
      I really did enjoy A Tale of Two Cities. I found it almost an easier read than Oliver Twist and certainly preferred it more as well. There is still a rather large cast of characters to follow. But it is a classic and one that does need to be read. If you only read one novel by Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities would be the one I pick.
       As A Tale of Two Cities spanned across time and across two cities, Les Miserable set me into 19th century France and spanned over a course of several decades as well. For the epic scope that Victor Hugo set for Les Miserable, I found it a rather easy read. The writing style, although dense with fabulous vocabulary, is not as convoluted as I expected. It has a more playful and inquisitive tone, almost as if Hugo wasn't quite sure where his characters were going to take him yet it helped guide the reader through the book. The book, although massive, is split into manageable sections as we follow the story through different characters' perspectives.
     Having seen the musical, I enjoyed reading through the novel that inspired it. I actually adored this book; the tales of Jean Valjean, Cosette, Fantine, Marius, and Eponine were fleshed out and expanded in a way that the musical obviously didn't allow. Eponine's character was not as strong as I expected her to be nor her interaction with Marius and Cosette as involved which was a bit disappointing. Yet, Hugo effectively displayed a human drama amongst a revolution. The revolution wasn't the center point but rather the characters, how they interacted and moved through life. It's not a story about war but rather about people who happen upon a revolution. With as popular as Les Miserable the musical has become in recent years, especially with the new movie coming out with Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean, I was eager to read the book. Ultimately, it's another book well worth a read and before you look at the 1000 page book and decide against it, there are abridged versions to choose from if the unabridged seems too daunting. 

      The other book I read this month was a Sherlock Holmes mystery. Recently, there has been an influx of Sherlock Holmes reboots; the movie with Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law as Holmes and Watson, the BBC series with Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman as the pair and the most recent rendition, Elementary with Johnny Lee Miller and Lucy Lui (not my favorite but it's pretty good all the same). As the mysteries of Sherlock Holmes clearly still resonant with our society, I was eager to read the stories in their purity as originally written by Sir Arthur Conon Doyle. I chose A Study in Scarlet which begins the story of Holmes and Watson when they first meet and become roommates. A murder unfurls as the quirky but brilliant Sherlock Holmes discovers just how the murder occurred and who the culprit was.       The story and characters are brilliant. Looking at Sherlock through the mind of Watson was fantastic. The reader is able to see the eccentricities of Holmes but also come to understand the scientific mind of Watson as well. Watson proves just to be as strong of a character and good counterpoint to Sherlock. This particular tale of Sherlock Holmes took an interesting turn with the back story of how the victim and murderer came to be in London I didn't really see coming. What was fabulous is the solving of the crime rest not on what our modern minds have come to rely on but purely searching out clues and using logic. I enjoyed being able to track with Holmes and allow the answer to the mystery to unfold. I'm excited to read more Sherlock Holmes tales as well. I loved the writing style and how Conan Doyle concocted the mystery and the answer, yet never lost sight of his characters, their banter, or how they operated within the world.

     When I was younger, I read books written before the 20th century because I thought it made me sound pretentious and smart. I doubt I always understood half of what I read but I knew that reading those sorts of novels were good for me. As I've gotten older, it's not about being pretentious, it's about learning and discovering the gems hidden in those sorts of books. There are human issues we're still dealing with, stories that are still being told today that were written over a hundred years ago. The writing is good, the stories are keen, and all well worth a read. Don't let a dense book or perceived uppity language scare you because ultimately these works are for the "common people". They were written for the people of everyday society, not the most educated. They tell the tales of the people on the streets, working, and trying to make a living. So discover the magic and ordinariness in the imaginatorium. I promise it will be worth it.

And next month: I attempt to make it through an entire series in one month. What that series is will be a secret until that posting. :) Happy Reading!

A Tale of Cities- Charles Dickens

A Study in Scarlet – Arthur Conan Doyle
Les Miserable – Victor Hugo

Rory's Book Club

    I realize it's November and I am just now posting about September's book reads but better late than never, I suppose. September was a month to dive into some of the books referenced on Gilmore Girls. One of the things that drew me to the show, besides the witty banter, quick line delivery and the obscene amount of pop culture references was the fact that Rory read and she read a lot. If I had more time, I would simply would have begun with episode one of the show and gone through all the books referenced in order. However, a month is hardly enough time to read through seven seasons of Gilmore Girls so a spattering had to suffice.
     Randomly choosing some novels, I was able to read several authors that I've wanted to read but just haven't. The month began with a book that I read ages ago in school, The Outsiders and finished with the thriller, Rosemary's Baby which was ironic since I was helping backstage of Deathtrap, also by Ira Levin. It was a wide range of choices and authors and I wish I had time to finish more of the books I had wanted to.
      As much as I would love to go into grave detail about each of the books, it is November and October's reads should probably be detailed as well. Because of that, a quick run down of my three favorites will do although all of them were good. Franny and Zooey by JD Salinger was definitely one of my favorites. I believe it is the first time I had read anything by Salinger and I do want to read more. It gave a rather interesting look into the society of socialites in the 50's and their take on life and religion. The Picture of Dorian Gray was another favorite. I loved the way Oscar Wilde protrayed Dorian's descent into madenss and how his sins and decisions reflected in his portrait as that grew older but the man didn't.
     High Fidelity by Nick Hornby was also a lot of fun. It was witty, it was clever, insanely sarcastic, and utterly British. I enjoyed how he referenced heaps of music in the book, many of which I didn't know but it was very Gilmore Girls with the references.
     The thing about the books chosen this month is that in many ways they reflect the show from which they were referenced. Some of them rather mainstream, others witty, off the wall, and a bit quirky. But all of them were good, quality works. By reading these books, I feel like I know Rory and Lorelai that much better, not to mention their creator Amy Sherman-Palladino. So do a google search for Rory's book club. There's so many choices and good choices at that. I'm sure you won't be disappointed with what you come up with.

October; It stemmed from some of the books I didn't get to from my Gilmore Girls month. The theme became books that were written before 1900 since I had wanted to read A Tale of Two Cities but just hadn't yet. Stay tuned for October.

The Outsiders- SE Hinton

The Picture of Dorian Gray- Oscar Wilde
Franny and Zooey – JD Salinger
The Little Locksmith- Katharine Butler Hathaway
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest- Ken Kesey
High Fidelity- Nick Hornby
Rosemary’s Baby – Ira Levin

Pass The Imaginatorium Along

    It can be a daunting task to walk into a bookshop and see rows upon rows of books waiting to be read. Some of them are bound to be fantastic while others are destined to fail. I often find myself going back to the same authors I have read before, too wary to branch out in fear that the stellar story the back cover promises will not deliver.
    But bravery comes in many forms and this month, the safest way to experience new authors was to ask my friends for recommendations. From seven different people, ten books were chosen and none of them left me feeling unsatisfied. The problem with enjoying all of the books is that I would love to go into detail about all of them but at the risk of boring everyone, I shall refrain.
     One of the highlights of the month was John Green's The Fault in Our Stars. Quirky, comical, slightly teen angsty, the book follows the story of Hazel, a young girl fighting cancer whose world of one is quickly changed when Augustus Waters, another cancer fighter enters her life. With excellent vocabulary, a sense of poignancy, and a brilliant theory as to why basketball is existential, the book quickly became one of my favorites. The dialogue is quirky and witty and the insights and character development unfold quite naturally. It's an tricky task writing truth about cancer from the eyes of teenagers and how they view their world. It's not a downer book but one that I would certainly pass on my recommendation for. I'm excited to read a few more novels by John Green as well. For some reason, he finally came up with the explanation behind my oftentimes jumbled thoughts; "My thoughts are stars I cannot fathom into constellations." Thank you, Augustus Waters via John Green.
       For how many times I've read The Great Gatsby (current count is four times), I have never picked up any of Fitzgerald's other novels. So when one of my friends mentioned This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald, I figured it was high time to give it a try. After reading The Paris Wife about Ernest Hemingway's first wife in which Fitzgerald enters as a character at one point, it seemed cohesive to pick up a Fitzgerald novel. I wasn't sure what I was expecting. Perhaps I was expecting something more Gatsby-esque but This Side of Paradise revolves around Amory as he comes of age and tries to make sense of the world in which he resides; the world of pretense, money, propriety, and influence. Fitzgerald still critiques that world of affluence but through the eyes of a young man as he navigates through his world. I really enjoyed it. At one point in the novel, Fitzgerald switches from prose to play form which was brilliant and perfectly fitted the scene. It was a creative novel in a way that I wasn't prepared for. It reminded me why Fitzgerald's books are not just for one place and time but they can transcend.
       My go-to genre has, in recent years, been fantasy yet at the same time, I'm often hesitant to try new authors because my expectations are rather high for those sorts of novels thanks to CS Lewis, Tolkien, and Robert Jordan. But when one of my friends mentioned Pawn of Prophecy by David Eddings and said he had read it multiple times, I decided to trust his judgement and give it a try. I'm thankful that the book was only the first in the series and there are more to be read. It follows a young farm boy named Garion whose past is slightly shrouded in mystery when he discovers that his Aunt Pol may not just be who she says she is and that his own importance may just be more than he realizes. He soon finds himself on an adventure seeking out new lands and learning that some of the "stories" he's heard growing up may not just be stories. The first book teases with information about Garion and who he is so I'm excited to continue with the series to see where it all goes. One thing that I really enjoyed was the dialogue, the humor, and just the wit throughout the book. It was a lot of fun to read and I definitely recommend it.
      Among the other books, Jesus Land is a really interesting memoir. For me, it was interesting to read because of growing up in the church and how the author critiques the perceptions, decisions, and masks that people wear throughout their lives that affects us both good and bad. Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut was also interesting, as the narrator has set out to interview the children of the man who invented the atomic bomb. It features it's own made up religion and transcends into a bit of madness but the satirical brilliance left me with a sense of "huh" once I finished but it was good.  The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett was another just fun read. It's super creative, wonderful vocabulary and a bit of anti or reluctant hero story. Definitely worth a read.
     Lastly, The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly quite immediately drew me in as the main character, David, has a love of books and stories fostered by his mother who explains how books need to be read and want to come alive. When his mother passes, through circumstances beyond his control, he finds himself in a world where the stories from Earth such as Little Red Riding Hood, Hansel and Gretel, Snow White and many others come to life but been twisted ever so slightly. David's quest while in the world is to find the King and "The Book of the Lost Things" so that he can make it back to his world. I enjoyed this book immensely as well. I loved how so many different stories were brought into the world. There's a reason stories and books grab us and many of those are discussed in this book which had an added sense of Imaginatorium for me.

     I do love recommendations from friends, especially friends that I know read a lot and read good books. There's something special about sharing a favorite story, being able to talk about it, and relive events and characters together. In reality, when the authors share their words with the world and they are good, isn't it our duty to pass it along?

Next month: September, school, perhaps not for me, but with school back in session, the promise of the leaves changing, and the weather becoming colder, I thought it was fitting to dive into books read or mentioned on Gilmore Girls. One of the things I always have loved and identified with in Rory was her love of books. There are so many to choose from but I'm excited to finally take my list of books from Gilmore Girls and enjoy what Rory did.

A Separate Peace- John Knowles

The Fault in our Stars- John Green
Pawn of Prophecy – David Eddings
The Paris Wife – Paula McLain
The Book of Lost Things – John Connolly
This Side of Paradise – F. Scott Fitzgerald
Cat’s Cradle – Kurt Vonnegut
The Colour of Magic – Terry Pratchett
Jesus Land – Julia Scheeres

The Friday Night Knitting Club – Kate Jacobs

Revisited Imaginatorium

       Sit in a quiet room, listen to the sound of stillness, let the silence engulf the moment but let your imagination run wild. Allow your thoughts to bounce around the room, carelessly bumping into the walls, the door, the chairs, and each other. Give each thought a moment and then shove it away. Revisit it later and see if it has something new to say. You soon realize with each passing thought they transform, they come alive, and they become new. Work through the imagination, discover new worlds, new schools of thought, or sit there in utter shock that no thoughts have come. My guess is our imagination, if given a chance, has a lot to say if we would only listen.
    Just like our thoughts that we revisit, like our imagination when we let it transpire, the well worn pages of imaginatorium hold new thoughts, new adventures, and oftentimes old friends. They may be words we know so well that only a few phrases need be uttered and we know precisely where we are. It may be that we know the events in the story so intimately that they become unremarkable to us. But a good book, a truly good story, is a source of unlimited and unending imaginatorium. It won't matter if we've read it two times or a hundred, the allure is still there. There's always the chance that things won't happen the same or perhaps that the ending will have changed from the last time we read it but we don't know until we reach the final pages. It's the reason Shakespeare endures, Jane Austen still lives, and Mark Twain still continues to reside in schools. We may know the endings but it doesn't stop us from enjoying the work.
    For some, it might be dull to read something they've already read but for me, there's a familiarity, a comfort, but still a sense of discovery that lies within the pages of books I've enjoyed before. Since it is mid way through my year of written imaginatorium, I decided to reread a few books and read a sequel. I'll admit that I had a very long list of books that I wanted to reread but never got through them all. But all the same, the imaginatorium I dived into was, for me, the chance to converse again with some old friends.
     The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7) by JK Rowling, and Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins, the sequel to the Hunger Games, were my three reads of the month. All of which were of thorough delight. It was my third time reading The Hobbit but only the second time actually paying attention. I was 10 when I received it as a birthday gift. The cover scared me but my dad said it was good so I skim read it, afraid of what ghostly things would be hidden in the pages. Since then, JRR Tolkien has become a familiar friend and the world of Middle Earth a familiar place. Although I wouldn't always want to reside there, I wouldn't mind spending time in the Shire or in Rivendell. Jumping back into the world was a thrill and only added to my anticipation for Peter Jackson's movie.
    The Harry Potter series is a series that I have read over and over again and still adore the world of Hogwarts. I had only read the seventh book once so I decided to read it again. It was, once again, a book that I can read many times and still get lost in the story. The only part that still drives me crazy, which might be part of the reason it's taken me so long to re-read it, is the epilogue. But that's a rant for another day.
     Catching Fire was also a nice final addition to the month. I really did like the Hunger Games, despite my apprehension that it was too talked about. In Catching Fire, the new characters that she created were intriguing and although I wasn't sure if I liked where she was headed with the story, I understand her reasoning for (SPOILER ALERT) sending them back into the arena. She made it different enough that it wasn't simply a repeat of the first book so that was a good move on her part.
   I'll admit that I had every intention of reading through heaps of books this month but I only made it to three. However, each of them contained friends that I have missed and, in the case of Catching Fire, needed to be sure they were okay.
    This month served as a fair reminder that once you've finished a book, the book might not be finished with you. It's the stories that we remember long after we've read the last page. It's the books that sit on the shelf and in the quiet, you can softly hear them call your name, begging you to pick them back up. If it's well written and truly worth your time, the book won't end when the pages do, it will keep going. It will find new ways to entice it's readers, draw them in, and invite them once more to enter into some of their favorite moments of imagaintorium. So as you glance over your bookshelf or think through your favorites, perhaps there's a story that just beckons you to come back and discover once again the reason why you fell in love with that story in the first place. Happy Reading!

Next month: Recommendations from friends. As much as I love picking a theme and reading within it, there's a lot of books that either would not fall into such a theme or I would never think to pick a theme revolving around them. So I'm taking my friends' advice and reading some of their favorites. Feel to let me know if there's any that you recommend as well.

The Hobbit- JRR Tolkien

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows- JK Rowling

Catching Fire- Suzanne Collins

"To Blog or Not to Blog"

   There was a sense of irony as I stepped out onto the stage for the Sizzling Summer Spectacular to deliver my monologue. Indeed an idea had been sparked from a comment made by a friend and inspired by none other than a masterful man of imaginatorium that led me to ask a simple question; "To blog or not to blog". Since I am perhaps procrastinating posting for this month, for those who were not in attendance for the show, I feel it fitting to post the monologue below for your viewing pleasure. Let me set the stage: A desk, a keyboard, a notebook and pen, a very large Shakespeare book that I have just finished, a stool and me in huge black rimmed glasses. The book is finished and in a moment of indecision, I know not whether to type my thoughts or merely write them and thus it begins:

To blog or not blog, that is the question.
Whether tis nobler to put fingers to keyboard or suffer the paper cuts and carpel tunnel syndrome.
To blog, to write no more, and by blogging to say we end the novel and the thousands of well worn pages that authors have written?
Tis a consummation not to be wished.
To blog, to write, to blog, perchance to read.
Aye, there's the rub.
For in the writing fury, what words may come when we have shuffled off the pen and paper.
This must give us pause. There's a respect that makes bloggers of so long life.
For who would hear the long winded paragraphs, the endless ramblings, the excessive emoticons, the facebook postings, the twitter escapades, the downfall of Myspace?
When she herself should lift her keyboard and slam it to the ground it utter disgust!
But the dread of something after the screen goes dark, the unread words which no one can read, puzzles the follower and makes us rather furious at the blogger and quickly fly to other social media that we know not of.
Thus conscience does make us read on and thus the social media takes over with the pale cast of thought drawing us in for hours of wasted time.
With this regard, their fingers turn on the computer and dutifully begin to blog.

I do hope that Shakespeare does not roll over in his grave from this particular version of Hamlet's speech. There's a small part of me that thinks it would have made him smile. I hope the effect is the same for you. July's reads to appear soon.

Cyborgs, Werewolves, and True Love's Kiss Revisited

And in my excitement to post, I forgot to add one tiny detail; my actual list of books just in case someone wants to read any of them that made the list. So in a rare moment, two posts in one month within a few days of each other. Here they are:

Mermaid- Carolyn Turgeon

Cinder- Marissa Meyer
Prom and Prejudice- Elizabeth Fulberg
Jane Slayre- Charlotte Bronte and Sherri Browning Erwin
Beauty –Robin McKinley
Austenland- Shannon Hale
Enchanted- Alethea Kontis

Enjoy! In a few weeks, look for another post. :)

Cyborgs, Werewolves, and True Love's Kiss

   We know the endings, we know the plot, and often times we know the characters and the stories so well that they've become second nature to us. It's the fairy tales we've grown up with and the classics we were told to read when we were in school. But can there really be anything added? Can new imaginatorim be pulled from the stories to give us something new that we don't already know? A fair ponderance, I believe. In that light, fairy tales retold and classics revisited were my choice this month. A few fairy tales such as Cinderella, the Princess and the Frog, and the Little Mermaid were on the list along with a bit of Jane Austen and Jane Eyre. As to be expected, some of them were really well done and others failed miserably.
      My two favorites of the month were Cinder by Marissa Meyer and Mermaid by Carolyn Turgeon. Cinder, obviously a take on Cinderella, kept the basic premise of a young girl who lives with her evil stepmother, meets the prince, and the prince is giving a ball. But set the story in the future in China, let Cinderella be a cyborg, have a plague rage across the world threatening the life of the entire civilization, and that's where Cinder places the reader. I admit that my sci-fi senses were tingling and enjoyed the book all the way through. The fairy tale aspect was still firmly in place but the book goes deeper and more intense than the story that Disney had told us. Cinder is only the start of this series. There are to be three more books after this one. I'm excited to see where the series continues and if the author does end the series with the typical fairy tale ending or not. Whether or not, you're a fan of sci-fi, it was really fun, well written and worth the read.
     Mermaid gave an interesting look at The Little Mermaid. The main character was not Ariel but Lenia. What was brilliant was that the book went back and forth between two princesses, the human, Margarthe, and the mermaid, Lenia, whose lives intersect early in the story when Lenia saves the prince from a shipwreck. Margarthe is on the shore and takes care of him from there.
     Unlike my favorite Disney movie, the book was a lot darker than I expected. Lenia does not simply loose her voice but rather has her tongue cut out by the evil sea witch. The prince was not the adorable Prince Eric of my childhood but rather a womanizing Prince who you eventually feel compassion for. The story flowed really well between the two perspectives. Because of these two simultaneous perspectives, there's a tension that arises as to who we want to win the Prince's heart. Although we want the prince to fall for the mermaid, Margarthe is a princess who has been promised to the prince to unite two kingdoms in marriage. Her blight is also one that the reader becomes sympathetic toward which heightens that tension.
    I had wished the book had been a bit longer which I don't often say. There was a lot of set up that needed to happen but the climax and resolution happened so fast. I wouldn't have minded a few more chapters to allow the conflict to continue just for a wee bit longer.
        Cinder and Mermaid were wonderful. However, there were two books that I was not a fan of at all, both of which took classic novels and tried to present something new. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies was brilliantly done so I was eager to give Jane Slayre a try. But when the co-author tried to work zombies, werewolves, and vampires all into one classic novel, the attempt failed miserably in my opinion. The only part that made "sense" in the Jane Eyre world was that the crazy wife in the attic was a werewolf. That worked but the rest of them, the zombies and the vampires, were just awkwardly added, felt out of place and forced into the prose unlike some of the better attempts to take classic novels and add the supernatural creatures to them. I was a bit disappointed that it wasn't better executed.
      The other book that I wanted to throw across the room after I finished it was Prom and Prejudice. I knew the minute I picked it up that it was going to be bad but I didn't realize just how poorly done it was to be. The first problem is that prom as the "marriage aspect" of the book which just does not function the same way. The other problem was that the author kept most of the names the same. That's fine but when the story is poorly executed, it's almost a crime to use the same names as the original Jane Austen novel. On top of that, Darcy was way too nice way too early. He needs to seem sympathetic so that Lizzie has that reason to fall for him but Darcy was portrayed as a little stuck up but still way too nice. It's books like this that deepen my belief that people should not mess with Jane Austen. Do not tell me what happened after the wedding, do not give me another character's perspective, just leave Jane alone. That's not to say that there have not been some good re-tellings of Pride and Prejudice because I'm sure there have been but Prom and Prejudice is not one of them.
      On that note, Austenland was a really fun read. The main character, Jane, gets a present from her aunt to go to Austenland where everything is done in period and she has a "Jane Austen" experience. It was an easy and fun read, certainly worth it. Beauty and Enchanted were also fun fairy tales to step into. Enchanted included a lot of different fairy tales beginning with The Princess and the Frog and then went on from there.
        I have always loved the fairy tales and my classics. It may be that those are the imaginatorium stories that have ruined my own imagination and given me false hopes and dreams but at the same time, those are the stories that we cling to. Those are the kind of stories that we can get lost in when the real world seems to be caving in or we need a distraction from everything else. I was thrilled to find some excellent retellings and some really fun reads this month.

    We've hit the halfway point. It is now halfway through the year which I feel is time for re-reads and sequels. There are some books that I've wanted to re-read for a while such as The Hobbit, The Book Thief and a few others. There are also some series that I need to read the sequels to such as the Hunger Games. I'm excited to get lost in my favorite books again and see what happens from there.

Challenging the words within Imaginatorium

   A story told, a story written, a story invested in, what the author wishes the world to know. The words which the author chose have been carefully prepared, edited, re-edited, and edited again. Even the small words that may have no consequence have been carefully chosen and placed precisely where they need to be. Yet over the years, there have been works of imaginatorium that have captured the public's attention for perhaps the wrong reasons. I choose not to debate whether banning or challenging certain titles is fair. I think it's up to each individual what they choose to digest when it comes to their reading choices. But this month, I chose to read those exact titles.
      There have always been those books that I wanted to read but never quite picked up that had been challenged in some arena. This month I chose to see what all the fuss was about when it came to three books; A Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, Catch 22 by Joseph Heller, and A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess. All three of these books have been challenged based mostly on objectionable language. With the risk of this turning into a dreadfully boring post where the English major in me decides to analyze the rhetoric, the syntax, the themes, and all the other English-y things, I promise I won't do that. So I'll begin and we'll see where this goes.
      First of all (and I know, that's a very English paper thing to say), I did enjoy all three of the books. A Brave New World has been one I wanted to read since I was 16 and finally picked it up. It's an interesting look at what happens when the stability of a society is governed by the fact that emotions, parents, and the arts are all carefully stowed away and manipulated by the people in charge. There was a bit of sexual content which is part of the reason the book was banned/challenged. But it's definitely worth a read. In many ways, it serves as a warning that if we begin to challenge and ban literary works, soon enough to find ourselves in a Brave New World where emotion, relationships, and ultimately happiness is suppressed to a sense of sterileness. Although many of the characters claim they are in want of nothing because of the conditioning they have received throughout their lives, it's the few that break free from that mould who find themselves at the crossroads of trying to come to grips with how they're feeling and what the world has taught them.
     This book was also challenged to some degree due to how Native Americans were portrayed. All I can say on that subject is that within the context of the story, they provide the perfect antithesis to the rest of the characters and the supposed Utopian society that the government or the "controller" has created. Therefore, portraying them any other way would not have fit.
    Give the book a read if you like the more science fiction, Utopian/dystopian novels. It was a really good read and I found it really interesting.
     Catch-22 is a novel that I remember a group of guys reading in my AP Lit class and most of them had sparked noted the novel, none of them seemed to like it and most of them seemed to be confused. That being said, I understand why they might have been to some degree. But the "in your face", sarcastic and comical tone that the book is written in certainly engaged me in the story. However, it doesn't go in order, I never trusted the narrator as to whether or not half the things he was saying were truth or not. But I'm glad I finally picked it up. It's another book that has been challenged based on objectionable content and again, most of it centers around the sexual content that is rather explicit in parts. Without giving away the Catch-22, as Yossarian and his comrades go through the paces, the idea of the Catch-22 is inherent even in the way the story is told. I won't say much more than that other than to give it a read and see what you think. I'm interested to read some of Joseph Heller's other novels someday. This story did go around in circles and did lend itself to some of the confusion the guys in my AP Lit classed faced. But it's a modern classic that needs to be read.
     A Clockwork Orange was a bit of an impulsive and random choice for me. I had heard of the movie but hadn't realized it was book originally. What I didn't realize until afterwards was that it was the movie and not the novel that caused such an uproar with the portrayal of the violence. I have not yet seen the movie but I would like to because I did enjoy the book. As I was encouraged to do by a friend, a glossary of terms should be close at hand when reading this novel. Anthony Burgress brilliantly created his own set of slang in a futuristic world. The main characters do engage in a lot of violent activities but it's such an interestingly well written book that for me, the violence took a backseat to the style of story. It's a work of pure imagintorium that I really enjoyed. It's one of the books that I feel like you just have to read to understand the weight of the book, the tone, and the themes that play within the story. Google a glossary of terms and give it a go.
      I know there's reasons why books are challenged and consequently banned. Do I believe in that? Not really. Keeping a work of imaginatorium for those who want to read it is ridiculous. It's up to us to choose what we want to read. If any of these books had been banned, it would be doing the literary world a disservice, same as trying to ban novels such as Huck Finn and To Kill Mockingbird just to name a few. So the challenge has been set. Pick a few books from the challenged or banned list and see what you think. My experience has been that they will be worth the time.

Banned novels behind us . . . June, here we come. A bit of summer reading despite the clouds in the sky. A look at modern day fairy tales, retellings of classics, and a perhaps a back story or two from some of my favorite books. A little lighter, a little easier, but isn't that what summer's for? Stay tuned!

A Brave New World- Aldous Huxley

Catch 22- Joseph Heller

A Clockwork Orange- Anthony Burgess

Whodun it Imaginatorium

   My accusation: Mrs. White in the library with the revolver. Clue; definitely one of my favorite games when I was younger. Using logic and deduction, trying to be sneaky and not let others know what was in my hand was thrilling. Then when I proudly announced who the murderer was, my opponents were constantly in amazement at how quickly I figured it out. I admit this is not the truth all the time but there were certainly moments where it occurred. This was before CSI overtook every television network and all anyone ever cares about now is what the DNA says and what the Forensics found out. But there was a time before CSI where the mystery to be solved involved detectives using their heads to solve a mystery.
     Reading mystery novels this month meant that the choices could be highly selective. No DNA samples required. It also meant that my list came out a bit more classic with Agatha Christie, Sue Grafton, Elizabeth George, and Brandilyn Collins. I realize that they were all female authors, not intentionally. However, if I'm being honest, Agatha Christie paved the way and definitely still reigns as the Queen of Suspense.
        As ridiculously cliche as it is to say, The Mirror Crack'd Side to Side by Agatha Christie was certainly my favorite this month. A movie star moves into town and at one of her parties, a young lady dies. Lots of suspects, lots of possibilities with only one outcome. There are times where I just like to let the story unfold and not try to figure out who did it. I found myself trying to decide who had done it but with the brilliancy that one would expect from Agatha, she had me guessing to the end. This book is one of her Miss Marple stories and what I loved was the fact that Miss Marple wasn't not at the heart of the action but rather in the perprephial yet she solved the mystery and led the police in the right direction.
      I love the character development and the different characters. The dialogue throughout the book is quirky, true to form, and fun. The prose reads well and is fabulous. Her plot line is complex, it's not always straightforward and her cast characters is truly diverse which made it my favorite read of this month.
      Two of the other books I read are also rather respected mystery authors; Sue Grafton and Elizabeth George. I had not read Sue Grafton's novels before so I began with "A" is for Alibi. It wasn't my favorite but her ending was awesome. The writing is good. I liked the fact that her book did not center around the Forensics but it was how the private investigator was to solve the crime by talking to people, understanding human nature in some semblance, and putting the pieces together. The romance in the story was a bit awkward. I understand why it was in there but I could have done with less of it. But I do think I would read another one of her books just for fun sometime.
     Elizabeth George, author of the Lynley series, was another author that I had read one of her novels before because of the PBS series based on the books. I know, I'm one of them. A little while ago, I had the chance to go and hear Elizabeth George speak. It was partially because of her that I wanted to do a mystery month. Hearing how her stories come to be and how much research she does as an American who sets her stories in England, was fascinating. Having watched the TV show and hearing from her how they simplified the stories for TV also intrigued me. I read The Great Deliverance this month which is her first Lynley novel. Thomas Lynley, a very privileged man works for the Scotland Yard gets placed on a case with Barbara Havers, a rather rough and tough women on the police force. Together, they look into a murder case that has happened. The human aspect to her story was awesome. It really is a novel that much more than just a simple mystery, she looks at human nature. I love the relationship between Lynley and Havers where she doesn't like him because of his privileged background. It creates a sort of tension that is almost refreshing for two main characters.
       This is certainly a series I recommend. However, The Great Deliverance goes to a very dark and a slightly disturbing place with the conclusion of the murder. But she's a brilliant writer and I do enjoy her style. Well Schooled in Murder is another one I've read of hers. That one is really good and doesn't go as dark as The Great Deliverance.
      The last book to touch on from this month was from one of my favorite authors; Brandilyn Collins. Her signature is Seatbealt Suspense books. They are fun, quick, and suspenseful for a lack of a better term. The one I read was Exposure and the story has two simultaneous stories happening that I couldn't figure out how they connected until the end when she spells it out. Perhaps I just wasn't trying but it was really good. The main character, Kaycee has intense fear and a wild imagination that she really thinks that someone is out to get her. As she struggles to convince people that she's telling the truth, one of her friends' daughters gets kidnapped and in a race save her, Kaycee's past slowly catches up with her. It's a good book, a quick read, and has a good ending as well. It was another one that I was guessing to the end how everything was going to work out.
     It's not always the Butler, it's not always the Maid, and it's not always because someone's DNA was found. It's the imaginatorium of those who wrote before modern technology, those that currently are more interested in the human side of the murder, and those that understand that a good story with good characters goes much further than science can sometimes. Although the book count wasn't substantial this month, the books I read had charm and appeal and I enjoyed them. The recommendation, peruse the mystery aisle, finding a cozy mystery, get lost in the story and try to decide who, what, where, and how.

     Next month: banned or challenged books. I'm not sure what I'm getting myself into but I know it will be interesting.

 

A is for Alibi- Sue Grafton

The Mirror Crack’d from Side to Side- Agatha Christie

A Great Deliverance –Elizabeth George

An Impartial Witness – Charles Todd
Exposure- Brandilyn Collins

Around the World in Thirty Days

     Oftentimes when I consider the classic books that I tell people they must read, most of them are English, written by native English speakers from the United States or England. But there is a whole world beyond the once British Empire that also writes, reads, and indulges in good literature that explains dusky imaginatorium. I confess that I haven't spent near enough time reading literature from other countries and my mere month on translated works was not nearly long enough either.
     However, I found some absolute gems during my month traveling the world. Off to France I journeyed with Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky and Bonjour Tristesse by Francaise Sagan. In Brazil, The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho was one of my favorite reads. Italy offered The Days of Abandonment by Elena Ferrant and Norway told me to go Out Stealing Horses with Per Petterson. Finally, Russia took me on a journey beyond my imagination with a rather unique fantasy novel called The Stranger by Max Frei. A world wind of sorts, I positively adored being able to settle into each of these novels, get a glimpse into cultures that I've been around but never taken the opportunity to read what their cultures had to offer.
     Suite Francaise, Bonjour Tristesse, and The Alchemist were definitely my favorites and The Stranger also came in at close second. Suite Francaise offered a very Parisian view of the world. Set during World War II, the story followed several different groups of people during the exodus out of Paris when Germany had marched on the city. The thing that I loved about this book was the different characters the author created; the pretentious Catholic family, the stuck up artist, the couple who had a son fighting in the war, all very different from one another yet all equally French in their views and lifestyle. The first part of the book focuses on several different families who are traveling out of the city. By the end of the first part, a lot of those characters wind up dead and most of them in ways befitting their character whereas the second part of the book focuses mainly on two families who live in the country and are forced to share their home with German soldiers. That was an interesting part of the plot. Hearing so much about how the war affected the United States or England, I hadn't ever really delved into how other countries, occupied countries who had dealt with the Germans and Hitler's "take over" had spent the war. The picture that was painted, especially in the second half, had the characters wrestling with the humanity of the Nazis and whether they were to be hated or pitied as merely humans following orders. I found the second half of the book as equally pretentiously French as the first but I really liked how the author allowed her characters to wrestle and work out their ambivalence toward the soldiers who were forced to occupy their town.
       This book was well written and flowed really well which was interesting in that the author, who wrote it during World War II, was never able to finish the book. Even though she was French, she was also a Jew and was arrested, sent to Auschwitz and died in the concentration camp. The book was then edited and translated after her death. Despite the fact that it was technically still a draft, it was brilliant and really good.
       After Suite Francaise, I have been on a bit of French kick, so initially a lot of the books that I was trying to find were French. When I first found Bonjour Tristesse, the book sounded like it would be the French version of Meg Cabot. It wasn't. It was really good, albeit slightly depressing. Around 150 pages, the main character is a 17 year old girl, Cecile, who lives her father who is incessantly shallow and, for the most part, only spends time with "beautiful" people who have nothing going on between the ears but are popular and successful in this until he decides to marry Anne, who is refined, intelligent, and has a greater understanding of how the world works then Cecile and her dad. At this, Cecile creates an elaborate plan to break up her father and Anne to protect their current way of life. She concocts a plan involving her boyfriend and her father's old girlfriend. It could be seen as a typical coming of age story yet the interesting thing is at the end of the book, Cecile and her father are almost as vapid and shallow as they were at the beginning. Yet I did enjoy this book. The writing was succinct and to the point but interesting at the same time. Again, it was a book that really showed the culture of an upper class French family. The book was told from the point of view of Cecile, who had times was a bit too bratty but yet somehow the reader is still sympathetic toward her. It was definitely a book that I would recommend. However, with the ending, I had a sense of "huh" when I finished it. I wasn't quite sure what to do with it, yet I still liked it.
      The last stand out for me was The Alchemist. I had heard that it was a good book but I didn't realize how much I would enjoy it until I read it. It followed a young shepherd boy who is approached by Melchizedek and is told to go in search of his treasure in the pyramids of Egypt. As the shepherd boy sets out, he meets people who are looking for their destiny and searching for meaning in what they are called to do. The boy begins to learn that although many people have been called to more, they settle for the safe life and the boy does not want to do that. He learns to listen to the language of the world and the language of the heart as he travels from Spain to Egypt to try to find his treasure.
    There was so much truth in this book about how the world operates and how we are called to more. Sometimes we can begin on the path, taking one step at a time, only knowing one piece to the puzzle but as we step, God reveals more of what he's called us to do if we are willing to listen. At one point, the boy feels like he is off track and fears that he cannot hear the language of the world. The alchemist's response is for him to quiet his thoughts and listen to his heart or his conscious because his heart is in tune with the language of the world. It was an image that I could relate to in that when things are going crazy, we forget to stop and allow the craziness and the noise to completely engulf us. But it's in the quiet that we find rest, solitude and guidance. The book is beautifully written and well worth a read. I would certainly read it again.
     The last book that I do recommend is The Stranger. I don't dare try to explain everything that happened within the 544 pages because most of it just has to be read to make sense. In it's most basic form, the book follows Max, a loner and loser in our world, who finds himself in the Unified Kingdom, a world of his own imagination, with a purpose and a new found sense of popularity. It's endearingly quirky, uber creative, and absolutely insane all at the same time. There's so much randomness that only make sense within the confines of the book which adds to it's brilliance. Despite the length, the book never feels like it's too long which is certainly saying something. There's also heaps of American references which is really interesting coming from a Russian author. This book is recommended just know that you were duly warned that it is not a straightforward book. Give in to the world and the crazy and you will enjoy it.
   The other two novels, The Days of Abandonment and Out Stealing Horses were both good, depressing, and super heavy reads. Recommended but with The Days of Abandonment,  be warned that it is super explicit in places.
    As my plane pulls back into the United States, my tour of France, Italy, Brazil, Norway, and Russia quickly comes to a close. Perhaps a more substantial month in the types of books I read, I did thoroughly enjoy the well written imaginatorium of the authors. The one thing that struck me was the vocabulary in each of these novels. Perhaps it has something to do with the books being translated that their word choice is given to a broader vocabulary and better words usage than some American novels. After all, there are so many fabulous words in the English language, why not use the best of them?
       Indulging in new cultures, learning how others think, what they believe and how they view the world, has always been an interest to me. There are so many other books and countries that I want to read but alas, the month ends and ergo my month of translated works must to. Now what? After a month of heavy reads, I've decided to return to my roots. Had you asked me when I was 10 what my favorite genre was to read, I would have quickly answered mystery. As I've grown up, Jane Austen and fantasy novels have overtaken my life. It's time to rekindle my first love of mysteries. But for now, find a book from another country, indulge in their truths and their world of dusky imaginatorium. Meanwhile, I will be off solving murder mysteries and remembering that not everything written has been CSI'd to death!
 

Suite Francaise- Irene Nemirovsky

The Alchemist- Paulo Coelho

Bonjour Tristesse- Francaise Sagan
The Days of Abandonment- Elena Ferrant
Out Stealing Horses- Per Petterson

The Stranger- Max Frei

Book to Film Imaginatorium

       I dare not even attempt to answer the age old question of whether the book is always better than the movie. I'd rather rest on the side of caution and say that they are two different mediums and therefore, cannot be compared. But I realize that oftentimes, it's hard not to compare the book to the movie. Out of the eight novels I read, I had seen six of the movies first. But now is not the time to be a film critic or even take a look at the differences between the book and film. Instead, it's all about the novel and the words on the page.
      By far, the standout choice was Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. The movie stars Andrew Garfield, Carey Mulligan, and Keira Knightly, all of whom are great actors. I had seen the movie prior and enjoyed it but was unsure of what I was getting myself into when I chose the book. The book is narrated by Kathy who Carey Mulligan plays in the film version. It takes place during modern day but in a world that has bred children, known as donors, to heal all diseases. These children are raised in a "school" closed off from the outside world where their inevitable future is to one day give up their bodies so that others can live. The crux of the novel asks the question whether we are all just at the mercy of an irrevocable destiny or whether we decide how our life is to turn out. The answer to that question is what the three main characters, Tommy, Kathy, and Ruth, wrestle and come to grips with through the book.
       The novel itself is written beautifully and the pacing is unique. It's not a book that lends itself to a quick read. Although just over 200 pages, it took me a bit longer than normal to finish because of the brilliancy of the prose and real life pace it's written in. As Kathy moves the reader through her life and through her memories of what occurred in Halisham, the school where they grew up, she recounts certain moments in their lives that defined who she was, who her friends were, and how they maneuvered in a world where everything was potentially preplanned. Throughout the course of the novel, they come to understand they can never have a real job and that there was no escape from what they were raised for, yet for most of the book, there was an underlying sense of hope that maybe they could do something else with their lives.
      I've never read such a novel that has left me with such a deep seated sense of grief. It was a book that stayed in my mind for several days after. The book continually asks the reader to ponder the idea that we have no sense of control over what happens in our lives, that we grasp for hope that can be illusive, and in the end, we have to decide how we want to live in the circumstances that we are in. It's definitely a book I recommend.
      One thing that did strike me as interesting is that the physical characteristics of the three main characters are never explicitly stated. Having seen the movie first, Carey, Keira, and Andrew were the people I envisioned as Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy. It would be interesting to see who I saw in those characters had I not seen the movie first. There is some sexual content but not enough to take away from the beauty and the intropesctiveness that the book requires. I'm excited to watch movie again just to see how the director took and interrupted the pace and the characters.
      My two fun reads of the month were I am Number Four by Pittacus Lore and The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks. Again, I had seen the movies first. I Am Number Four was a lot fun. It was about John, or Number Four, who was saved from his dying planet when he was little and sent to Earth. Now the battle that raged on Lorien has come to Earth and he must save our planet. The opening chapter reads like screenplay with all the action in the present tense which I think helps set tone and the mood for the rest of the book. I also love the fact that the author has fully given himself to the novel and the world that he created to the point where he is a character from the planet, Lorien, and his biography says that he's currently hiding, waiting for the war to begin.
      I had to give in to a Nicholas Sparks book just for a fun, quick read and that is exactly what The Last Song was. In typical Nicholas Sparks tradition, it had a happy/sad ending, people fell in love, and people died but it was a good book. It had a good message of reconciliation as well. The interesting thing was that he wrote this book simultaneously with the screenplay in which Miley Cyrus was to play the lead. The nice thing was that it doesn't read like a "written for Miley Cyrus" book. It's worth a read.
     The month also ended up being a bit of a British authors month as well. Stardust, An Education, and Bridget Jones' Diary are all written by British authors. I was excited to read Stardust since it's one of my favourite movies and it was a good, quirky Neil Gaiman read that even included The Lion and the Unicorn fighting for the crown which gave me a bit of a laugh after doing the musical Wonderland where the Lion and Unicorn were fighting for the crown. Bridget Jones' Diary, although, I really liked the movie, left me with something to be desired. Her sarcastic humor was great at first and then after about 20 pages, I got really tired of it and did not have the sympathy for Bridget like I should have. An Eduction a memoir by Lynn Barber and it was really well written. She's worked in magazines and done journalistic writing for years so the prose was succinct and to the point. But there was a sense of humor that was refreshing.
      Walking through the library one day, True Grit was on display and I thought it would be a nice addition to the reading list this month, seeing that it was the complete opposite from the refined British novels I had been reading. I have not seen the movie yet. But I loved the fact that the narrator was 14 year old girl and her character had a lot of gumption throughout the whole book. It was a really cool read and well written. Even the way he described the violence was almost nonchalant like it happened all the time but being the Old West, I suppose there is some truth to that.
      Lastly, The Help rounded out the month. There had been so much talk about the book and so much hype with the movie, especially with it being Award Ceremony month, that I was hoping I wouldn't be disappointed and I wasn't. Kathryn Stockett moves between three different narrators; Minnie, Aibleen, and Skeeter. Each have a different voice, different style and a different perspective and they are all well done. Set in the South, in the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement, it's a world that I have very little experience with; the White people and the African Americans who still worked as maids almost 100 years after slavery was abolished. Although, I feel like this book has been talked about a lot, it was a good read and I did really enjoy it. However, I felt like the ending was a bit of a cop out. I just didn't feel like Aibleen's story, who starts and ends the book, was quite finished. There was a bit more that I needed from her story that I didn't get. I'm not entirely sure what more I needed but there was just a sense of it being unfinished. But all the same, I really enjoyed it.
      Truth be told, I am often a movie snob. I like a good story, good acting, good directing, and I have to enjoy my characters. So in choosing the books for this month, I wanted to be a bit of a pretentious reading snob as well. Of course, choosing The Last Song, I am Number Four and even Bridget Jones' Diary probably spoiled my pretentiousness. But it has been interesting to read the words that inspired the films and seeing the reasons why these novels justified a movie. I will also be re watching all the movies from these books just to see how they were interpreted. In the case of all of the books, the imagination, the prose, the characters, or simply the story itself certainly gave enough reason for someone to decide to put what was on the page onto the screen.

Alright, so random reads, movie reads . . . .where to now? A world tour of sorts. I love traveling and I love other cultures and the US and England are not the only countries who write books. March will be translated works. Some French, some Italian, and some Brazilian authors have already been found but what other countries I shall travel to by month's end, well, you'll wait and read.

Never Let Me Go- Kazuo Ishiguro

I am Number Four- Pittacus Lore
An Education- Lynn Barber
Bridget Jones’ Diary- Helen Fielding
True Grit- Charles Portis
Stardust- Neil Gaiman
The Help- Kathryn Stockett
The Last Song- Nicholas Sparks

Fairy Tales, Greek Gods, and Teen Love

    The streets of Paris, the hustle and bustle of New York, the immortal lives of fallen angels, and battles with Greek Gods gave me a very eventful January. With a total of 10 books finished, some were fabulous and completely described my feeling of dusky imaginatorium while others left something to be desired. With no particular theme in mind for January, it turned out to be a month for whatever I found interesting, happened to pick up, or came to me at the library. The ironic thing is that most of the books centered around a similar theme; teen romance and fantasy. Why? I haven't a clue.
        From modern tellings of fairy tales by Alex Flinn, some teen romances by Becca Fitzpatrick and Stephanie Perkins, the beginning of my month began with some pretty fun reads. Then there was a fantasy novel by Laini Taylor that I dived in and barely came up for air until I finished it. Lastly, I joined Percy Jackson on a few Greek God sized battles with the third and fourth book in the series; the Titan's Curse and the Battle in the Labyrinth, respectively.
     By far though, my two favorites were The Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor and Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins. 
     The Daughter of Smoke and Bone was brilliantly done. The world Laini Taylor created hovered in between our world and world of the Serephim and Chimaerae, fantastical creatures filled with hidden agendas and their own world that they were battling for. Set mostly in Prague, the story follows a young orphaned girl, Karou, who has blue hair and a talent for art. The only family she's ever known are the Chimaerae who raised her and still, at 17, they send her all around the world on errands for them. But when a black hand appears on the entrance to the portal into the world of the Chimaeraes, and the Serephim begin to enter into our world, the mystery of Karou's heritage and past begin to unravel.
       When I first began to read The Daughter or Smoke and Bone, I wasn't sure if I totally believed in her world. For me, when I dive into a book, I want to believe in the world that the author has created. I want to know without a doubt that their characters are real, living and breathing creatures that I can relate to, that I can see as a part of my world, and that I could interact with if I stepped into that world even if it doesn't really exist. As Karou began to navigate between our world and the world of her Chimaeraes, I just wasn't sure I bought into it. It just didn't have the power or the believability that I needed despite the well written prose. But then I continued reading and before I knew it, not only did I believe in it, but I was completely hooked and could not bear to put the book down. Although the romance in the story may be the star crossed lovers that have been around since Shakespeare's time, the ingenuity, the creativity, and the story itself showed something new and took me to a new place. It's definitely a book that I want to read again. She also left it open for a sequel and I really hope there is one.
         Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins was another gem that I found.The best way I can describe this book is Lizzie McGuire meets Meg Cabot. There's a sweetness and an innocence to the story but also a bit of underlying sarcasm and humor that runs throughout the novel. Anna is sent by her parents to an American boarding school in Paris. Although going to Paris is the last thing she ever wanted to do, she falls in with a group of friends who help her adjust to life in Paris . . . . oh, and there's the boy, Etienne St. Clair. Although all the students in the school are American, St. Clair conveniently was born American but raised partially in England which results in him having a British accent.  That, in and of itself, would be enough for most American girls to be in love with him. Although he has a girlfriend, Anna and he quickly become best friends as he helps her make her way through her first year at the school.
       Although this book did nothing in the way of intellectual stimulation, besides a few French words that I learned while reading, the book was well written fun. The story, although perhaps predictable, was light hearted, dealt with some parent and friend issues, and had a wonderful chick flick ending. I enjoyed the slight sarcasm of Anna and of course, the book being set in Paris was also a lot of fun having been there before. There were a few curse words in the book but not enough to detract from the sweetness. That being said, the motivation behind some of St. Clair's decisions didn't make a whole lot of sense but I'll just let you read the book and see if you agree. The book definitely was one of my favorites of this month.
         Now for the ones that weren't quite so high on my list. I really hate to be harsh and I want to support writers and their imagination and the worlds that they have created but out of all the books I read this month, the Hush, Hush Saga had an awesome beginning and just went downhill from there. Hush, Hush and the two books that follow, Crescendo and Silence, tell the story of Nora Grey who meets a mysterious young man named Patch that she is instantly attracted to but repulsed by at the same time. Is this plot line ringing any bells yet? In the first book, however, Nora is being hunted, by who or what she doesn't know, but it seems that Patch is either trying to protect her and or a part of the plot to kill her. Eventually, she learns that Patch is a Fallen Angel and once a year for two weeks the fallen angels are able to take over the bodies of the Nephlim. It is a Nephilm that is trying to kill her. In the end, she ends up killing the Nephlim and Patch becomes one of the good guys again and becomes a guardian angel for Nora.
      To give the series credit, I really did enjoy the first book. It was well done and well executed but the second and third just got more and more ridiculous and melodramatic and suddenly I felt like I was reading Twilight with fallen angels instead of vampires. Perhaps it didn't help that the series was in first person or that in the second book, Patch and Nora break up and she has some very melodramatic "I can't live without you ever!"  moments. Patch also considers their break up a way to protect Nora and expresses how he really can't be with her because it's just not right. Really? I get the whole star crossed lovers thing but find a new, less melodramatic way to tell it. Just because it's a teen novel does not mean the girl has to be whiny and and over dramatic about the breakup. I do give Nora a lot more credit then her Twilight counterpart though. She heals and moves on a lot quicker, understanding that there is more to life than a guy and that I did appreciate. Although the third book had some interesting plot twists, the ending still felt a bit too familiar and I do fear that there is a fourth book in the works. That's fine, she just needs to come up with something new to introduce her readers to and sadly, I will probably read it just to complete the series.
        The other books that I read this month were all good and a bit of fun. Alex Flinn does an excellent job with her fairy tales and changing them just enough to make them believable in our world. Rick Riordrian's Percy Jackson series is excellent and a very fun read as well. I'm excited to finish out the series with the fifth book very soon.
       I certainly have no regrets about the books that fell into my lap over this month. Although perhaps light hearted and a bit cheesy at times, there is something to be said about the feel good books we pick up. It's why we watch Chick Flicks, why some people love weddings, and why it feels so good to laugh with friends. It's the humor we find in life, the blessings God gives us, and the quiet moments where everything just seems perfect. If we were never able to experience those things and always stayed in the storms, I don't think that would be a world that I would want to live in.

      So what's next? I welcome suggestions, comments, and even disagreements. Right now, for next month, here's the teaser; book to film! Some of the books I'll read I have seen the movies already but others I have not. I'm excited to see where this month takes me. A preview includes Never Let Me Go, I Am Number Four, The Help and a few other fun ones that might be a bit more educationally stimulating then the teen romances I somehow ended up with this past month.
     In conclusion, I hope that through this you will look through the list, pick out a selection, find a quiet corner with a cup of tea and delve into the world of Dusky Imaginatorium for yourself.

January's list:

Beastly- Alex Flinn

Hush, Hush- Becca Fitzpatrick

Percy Jackson and the Titan’s Curse- Rick Riodrian

Daughter of Smoke and bone- Laini Taylor

Before I go to Sleep- SJ Watson  (not a teen read-- definitely an "R" rated book)

A Kiss in Time- Alex Flinn

Crescendo- Becca Fitzpatrick

Percy Jackson and the Battle in the Labyrinth

Anna and the French Kiss- Stephanie Perkins

Silence- Becca Fitzpatrick

Dusky Imaginatorium

       Dusky Imaginatorium. It's the feeling you get upon walking into a library full of books. It's the smell of well worn pages or of a brand new story anxiously waiting to be read. The smell of knowledge, the creative spirit, the never ending flow of ceaseless words all coming together to create a single, living, breathing entity. At the crux of it all, it's the books we read, the movies we watch, and the places we dream of. It's the world in which I live, breathe, and dream. There are the times where a good book will engulf me so completely that I need a reminder to come up for air. The movies that I deem as perfect are ones that stay in mind long after the credits roll.
       So I've dedicated this year to a year of reading with the occasional movie thrown in. I used to be the girl who'd walk through the halls with her nose in a book, somehow maneuvering through all the people. Snow days were made for a cup of hot chocolate and a good book or three. Once university came, my reward for finishing finals was a Caramel Macchiato at Starbucks and a book. For me, it was the perfect ending to a hard quarter and well earned grades.
       There's always been the reading phases where I wasn't too in tuned to picking up a book and instead of finishing one in a week, it took me a month. But things are going to change. Starting at the end of the month, a list will appear of the best and worst books of month that I've dived into. I realize that my credentials are very limited. I do not write for the New York Times, I'm not a part of any review committee for any publisher but I read . . .a lot and I write . . .  a lot. So therefore, I feel that I have some reason to state my opinion on the matter.
        Perhaps it will be of no consequence what I have to say but I'd like think that someone, somewhere, may look over the list and find something of interest to pick up. In doing so, maybe, just maybe they will discover the true meaning behind "dusky imaginatorium".