I’ve just signed up to do the 50/50 challenge over at FiftyFifty.me. This means my goal is to read 50 books and watch 50 movies by the end of 2012.
The 50 movies bit might give me some trouble, but that’s what Netflix is for, right? I’ll have to come up with some sort of widget to keep track of my movie viewings. Watch the sidebar, as that’s where it will pop up when I make one.
The 50 books part actually isn’t too much of a challenge for me. I signed up for the GoodReads reading challenge about halfway through 2011 to read 50 books by the end of the year, and met that easily. So on top of the 50/50 challenge above, I’m also going to be doing a GoodReads Reading Challenge to read 75 books in 2012 (the 50 for the challenge above, and 25 more). My 2011 widget is below. I’ll add the 2012 widget to the sidebar as soon as GoodReads makes it available.
Edit, Jan. 9: I’m keeping track of my selections on this page, if you’re curious.
The Help
By Kathryn Stockett
The Help is yet another book I picked up because I wanted to read it before seeing the movie. I still haven’t seen the movie, and now I’m a bit trepidatious about it. Not because the book wasn’t good, but because it was SO good, I can’t imagine the movie will live up to it. It portrays the casual prejudice, daily fear, and quiet joys experienced by black help in the white South with piercing simplicity. The narrative is split between a few different narrators, each speaking in the 1st person – and this is done so well, I could hear the different voices in my head as I was reading. Miss Skeeter, Aibileen, and Minny are three of the bravest women you’ll meet in a book, and the journey they take to learn to trust one another is moving. Overall, it’s funny and heartbreaking, and some parts will make you downright angry. A book that makes you feel so many different things so deeply, and sheds light on something that still isn’t talked about widely, is a rarity. I highly recommend this book.
I give it 5/5 stars.
One Day
By David Nicholls
I picked this up because I started seeing advertisements for the movie, and I generally like to read the book a movie is based off of before seeing the movie itself. After finishing this, though, I don’t think I’ll be running out to see the movie any time soon. I was torn about how to rate this book, because on a technical/language level it’s very well written, even quite lyrical at parts. The idea itself, telling a story of two people based on the same one day over 20 years, is also interesting, and carried off well. But I simply didn’t like it, due mainly to the fact that the one of the main characters, Dexter, is a complete tool. I don’t know what Emma sees in him or why she puts up with him for the whole book/20 years of story. Emma herself started out a bit iffy, but grew on me as she matured through the story. Dexter never did, and I can’t really get behind a love story where I can’t stand one of the participants in it. Add in the ending (no exact spoilers, but it’s depressing), and this was just overall dissatisfying. Maybe it’s a British author – American reader disconnect thing, but I didn’t like it.
I give it 3/5 stars.
The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie (Highland Pleasures, #1)
By Jennifer Ashley
Now, this is not normally the type of book I review on here. I like a fun romance novel as well as the next girl, but they are generally not the type of writings to warrant reviews or public acknowledgement. 
This one, however, is an exception. It is still very much a raunchy romance story, but it’s a great deal more than that, as well. It’s got a family shrouded in mystery and scandal, a murder (or three) to be solved, and some very well-developed characters. My favorite is the title character, our romantic lead Ian Mackenzie. He’s a big, burly Scotsman, which is generally enough for most romance novels, but the thing that makes him stand out is that he is also a savant, a very high-functioning autistic. I’d never read anything before with part of the story told from such a point of view, let alone in a romance novel. It was intriguing, and well-done – it showed how much trouble he had with crowds and distraction and fits, his amazing memory and mathematical skills and inability to lie, and his intense focus, and it did all of this without making him a figure of pity, which could’ve been a danger. Indeed, the progression of the relationship between him and the female romantic lead (Beth Ackerley) is one of the most realistic and well-developed I’ve seen in a romance novel. Of course there is the physical aspect, but seeing Beth grow from confusion at his behavior to understanding to admiration to love is really rather touching. The other main characters (Ian’s brothers, sister-in-law, and a detective) are equally well-written, making for a surprisingly deep read for the genre. The other books in the series explore the love lives of Ian’s 3 brothers, who each have their own issues, though the stories don’t play out quite as movingly as in this first book. But if you’re a fan of romance and want something a little different, definitely check this out.
I give it 4/5 stars.
The Amaranth Enchantment
By Julie Berry
This was another random pick through the now-defunct GoodReads bookswap, and I must say I was pleasantly surprised. The Amaranth Enchantment was a refreshingly unique take on the classic Cinderella story. It takes that well-known tale and turns it into a mystery. Lucinda (Cinderella) is a young girl whose parents mysteriously vanished, and is now stuck being a servant in her uncle’s jewelry shop. A day full of unusual visitors and one very unusual piece of jewelry spark a tumultuous turn of events. Her ‘fairy godmother’ sends her on some questionable tasks before helping her, requiring that she learn the skills of a pickpocket. And while there’s an aunt instead of a stepmother (no stepsisters in sight), the real villain of the story is someone else entirely. There’s a good amount of danger and intrigue, and of course some romance and misunderstandings. It is young adult, so not terribly deep, but a fun read nonetheless.
I give it 3/5 stars.
Life got a little crazy, as it does once in awhile. A whirlwind of social obligations, crazy flood of freelancing projects, and the (then) imminent departure of my boyfriend to the other side of the world for a month meant I kind of fell off the blogging wagon there for a bit. Then once the whirlwind was passed, I needed a bit of recovery time. So I’ve been doing a lot of naps, movie marathons and cuddling with the puppy. I have also been reading, but it’s been the self-indulgent (read: historical romance) kind – reading for pure escapism/enjoyment, not typically the kind of stuff that I want to read with writing a review in mind. So there was an echoing silence here for a short while.
However! Now I am feel more back to myself, and have some library reads lined up that I think are the reviewable type. So hopefully the book reviews will be back to normal soon.
The Historian
By Elizabeth Kostova
This is a book I’d never heard of before coming across it on Goodreads Bookswap, which is a shame, because it’s a gem. Most of the vampire stories that have come out recently have been along the lines of Twilight – at the most basic, a human falling in love with a vampire. And that’s fine, those can be entertaining and enjoyable. But they do get a bit old after a few. The Historian, quite refreshingly, did NOT follow that vein. It is an investigative journey spanning decades, delving into the root and history of vampirism and in particular the ‘original’ vampire, Vlad Tepes, aka. Vlad Drakul, aka. Dracula. It shifts narrators (and decades) between a professor of history, a student of his turned diplomat, and the diplomat’s 18-year-old daughter, each sucked into the mystery and intrigue surrounding Dracula. They are all bound together in an insatiable (albeit dangerous) quest for knowledge, and Kostova weaves together history and fiction seamlessly. I have no idea if the history (aside from elements of vampirism) is accurately portrayed, but my guess would be the author did some painstaking research from the level of detail conveyed. I don’t want to say too much more here, because I’m not sure how to talk about plot elements, etc. without spoilers. Suffice to say that I enjoyed this book immensely, and highly recommend it. The only ‘down’ points are that sometimes the history is a bit dry (though never for long, thankfully) and some plot holes are never filled (though the narrator offers an excuse for this in the preface/beginning).