I have had a feast reading this month. It has been so busy during the day taking care of the family and having fun, that the only time I've been able to read has been at night, sometimes till the wee hours of the morning. There were a few nights when I went to bed just before Elijah had to get up to get ready for work. It sounds insane, but reading actually brings sanity to my life, even if I have to stay very late to accomplish it. Well, enough with talking. Here is my awesome list for October:
1. The Game of Kings by Dorothy Dunnett
The story of the book takes place in Scotland in the early 15oos. I loved its historical plot. I learned so much about Scotland during that time. The characters were amazing and well developed. The language is beautiful and it makes you feel right at home in Scotland. Dorothy Dunnett is brilliant in the choice of words, style, and character development. You learn each of the characters bit by bit through their actions, thoughts, and the way they express their feelings. The main character, Francis Crawford of Lymond, is presented at first as an anti-hero, and then as you get to know him better, he truly becomes the hero of the story. Whether he is the antagonist or the protagonist, you can't help but love his silvered tongue, handsome looks, and, regardless of the misconceptions you receive at the beginning of the story, his kind heart. If you like anything historical or Scottish, or just any book with strong characters, this book is for you. It is not an easy read, and the language is loaded with comparisons, epithets, metaphors, and various references to Greek, Roman, and Scottish mythology, but it's worth the time. I really enjoyed it. This is the first novel of a six volume series, and I tend to finish them all when I get some time after the holidays.
2. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
I already reviewed this book earlier this month. As mentioned in that review, I was devastatingly disappointed with the way the author concluded the trilogy. She could have written such a better story with way more character development. As it is, you read only about the war and the many senseless deaths spread out in each page. I loved the first two books, but I was not happy with this last one. The character development was nonexistent, and the story brought no redeeming feelings.
3. Artemis Fowl - The Eternity Code - by Eoin Colfer
Artemis Fowl is an easy read, and just helps me relax with its funny and interesting characters, creative plot, and amazing imagination. This is the third one of the series, and I've been enjoying seeing little genius Artemis deal with life's challenges, his fairy friends, and the enemies that come his way.
4. Villette by Charlotte Bronte
We are reading this book for our book club, and although I had read it before, I thought it advisable to read it again, since I'm actually presenting it. I absolutely love this book. This is a masterpiece all on its own in the shelves of the classics. To tell the truth I'm surprised I love this book so much, since I tend to enjoy happy stories with happy endings. There is nothing happy in this book, and there is no happy ending. However, in Villette, Charlotte Bronte showed the world what a literary genius she was, through the beautiful usage of the language, the moral and philosophical issues she raises, and through the strong and weak at the same time, cold and fiery all at once, Lucy Snow, the main character of her novel, and the personification of her own self. If man fight wars and survive physical hardships in their life/fiction adventures, our Lucy, and many other female characters out there, fight their demons of loneliness, emotional distress, limited choices, and imprisonment of their own inner self. Although, Lucy emerges triumphantly over her life's trials, she has suffered much, emotionally and mentally. This was a novel so ahead of its time, discussing the role of the woman in the society, and the choices that woman had to deal with her challenges. The book's issues were as relevant then as they are now. This is not your usual book, but if you want to read an amazing and well written classic, with unique characters and beautiful language, I highly recommend it.
5. The life of Charlotte Bronte by Elisabeth Gaskell
This is the first book by Elisabeth Gaskell that I have ever read, and I was hooked. This author is in the list of my top five favorite female authors, along with Bronte, Austen, Wharton, and Woolf. To read a biography of one of your favorite authors written by another of your favorite authors is truly a literary treat. To this day, this biography written by Gaskell, is revered as one of the best biographies written ever. Needless to say, this book sealed the name of Charlotte Bronte as literary genius. Elisabeth Gaskell had known Charlotte Bronte during her lifetime in the few occasions Bronte made the effort to attend Charles Dickens' parties. After Bronte died, her father and husband approached Gaskell and asked her to write a biography for Charlotte, offering her all the correspondence she had had during her lifetime. Not that Gaskell needed them; Bronte's books are the best letters you can read to understand Charlotte's feelings and thoughts. Gaskell agreed to write the biography, and write she did. She was kind, sensitive, and more than anything, understanding. However, she was also a researcher, and she interviewed and visited with many of Charlotte's friends and those who were not her friends, but who had had an impact for good or bad on this amazing woman's life. I read this book again, to feel prepared for my presenting of Villette, but I shouldn't have. I remembered everything I had read before with pain in my heart for the hardships that this literary giant and sweet lady had encountered in her life. If you would like to read a beautifully written biography, or a book about Charlotte Bronte, don't go further, this is the right book.
6. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
I really like this author, and I've been wanting to read the book that brought him fame for a while now. Ender's Game is a well-thought and well-written book, with great characters, and a few twists and turns through out the book. Card writes well, with a style that brings ease to the reader. I'm not very fond of military topics, but I was surprised to see how much I was enjoying the plot and the descriptions of Ender's training. I wasn't taken back and astonished by this book, but I enjoyed it a good deal more than I thought I would. It was a good break between the classics and historical fiction I was reading at the time.
7. Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
This month, I've read great books, all with a good combination of beautiful language, interesting plot, and fascinating characters. Bell Canto had all of these as well. However, what made this book unbelievably attractive to me was its character development, and their links with each other. The novel tells the story of a group of people that find themselves taken hostage by a revolutionary force. Many of the them are foreigners, having come to this particular country to see if they could invest, with the exception of one lady, an opera singer, who has being paid to sing for the main guest, a very important investor, who in turn was convinced to come to the foretold country by the fact that his favorite opera signer was going to sing for him in his birthday party. Events go as planned, except that toward the end of the party they all become hostages to a particular revolutionary group. When I first started reading it, I didn't particular liked it. I thought the plot to be a bit dry and slow. The plot doesn't change actually throughout the book, but what changes is the connection that I as the reader get with the characters. A little by little, I learn more and more about each of them, their personal thoughts and feelings, their past, their desires. What made it very interesting for me was the opera factor that was threaded throughout the book and kept the characters connected. I really enjoyed the subtle way that the author would introduce various facts about each character. Because they were all from different countries, I enjoyed the traditional characteristics that each of these characters brought from their cultures, such as the melancholy of the Russians, the reserved nature of the Japanese, the straightforwardness of the Americans, the romantic personality of the French, and so with many others. I didn't fancy the ending, nevertheless, it didn't lessen the beauty of the whole book. Skillful writing was what made this book interesting to me.
8. The Season - Sarah MacLean
I haven't read 300 pages before as fast as I read the 300 pages of this book. I was in dire need for a sweet romantic story, with a witty girl and a loving boy. This book was just what I needed to get my romantic fix. It's a fairly new book written in the style of Jane Austen taking place also during Jane Austin's time period. It has clean language, tender romance, and great female characters. It's an easy read with simple language and plot, but as I said, it did the trick for me when it came to a romantic story. This is just the right book for a relaxing autumn evening. By no means, read it and enjoy it.
9. Leave me alone, I'm reading by Maureen Corrigan
A book reviewer herself for NPR's Fresh Air, in her book, Maureen Corrigan offers us to accompany her in her analysis of her life by examining the books that change her life during particular events. She discusses her love for books and the books themselves. I absolutely loved this book. I didn't agree with everything she said, but I loved her witty and intelligent analysis of books that made a difference in her life. I took me a while to read this book, since I would stop and write titles that sounded interesting to me for future reading. Maybe some of them might make their appearance next month. If you need a new perspective on really good books out there, you should read this book. The titles and books she discusses aren't your usual Oprah best book of the month. Depth and strength seem to characterize the kind of books she suggests. I'm looking forward to reading some of them in the near future.
I hope you all had a good reading month. Don't forget to share some of your favorite reads with the rest of us.
Happy reading!
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