Author: Rachelle

Thursday’s Things

Published on by Rachelle
1001 Things
Original Image: Viktor Hertz

Normally, I only do one “Thursday’s Things” a month, but there are a lot of great things happening right now that I wanted to make sure all of my readers know about before the end of the month.

Classics Club: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

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Oz

  • Author: L. Frank Baum

I received the audiobook for free from audiobooks.com.

I enjoyed the story much more than I thought I would.  While I love the film adaptation, I had some initial reservations about the book considering I learned that L. Frank Baum wrote it as a political and economic statement in support of the Populist party who supported a bimetallic standard of gold (the yellow brick road) and silver (Dorothy’s silver shoes.  That’s right, they’re silver in the book, not ruby), instead of the Gold Standard.  However, I realized while listening to the book that, if there is some kind of statement at all, it’s not in any way obvious.

Maybe I missed something, though.  That’s possible for two reasons.  First, Brooke Shields narrated the book as if she were reading it to a very young child, and the majority of her male character voices were downright annoying.  Second, Dorothy has no agency.  She doesn’t do anything deliberately unless you count her following the instructions to walk down the yellow brick road to get to the Emerald City.  Everything else just sort of happens to her, or is an accident.  How did I miss that in the movie?!

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was written in 1900, and it was meant to be a children’s book.  These reasons are the only ones for why I forgive Dorothy’s lack of legitimate action.  She is technically the main character, however, so there’s that.  Putting Brooke Shields’ narration aside, I would recommend the book to anyone who wants a quick Classic to read or wants a Classic children’s chapter book to give to a kid who might enjoy it.

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Monday’s Minutes

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“Monday’s Minutes” is a weekly post in which I track my bookish life.  All book covers are linked to Goodreads unless otherwise noted.

  • An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon
  • Bad Magic by Pseudonymous Bosch – This is on hold until March since it’s an ebook and I’m participating in Feel the Paper Love February.
  • Succubus Dreams by Richelle Mead – Since I DNF’d the piece of brain candy that my book club chose for this month, I decided to return to a Paranormal Romance series I actually like.  To give you an idea of how rare it is for me to read something like this, the Boyfriend saw it sitting on the table and exclaimed, “What the Hell is this?!”

 Echo Bad Magic Succubus Dreams

DNF:

  • Cupcakes, Trinkets, and Other Deadly Magic by Meghan Ciana Doidge

Cupcakes

Challenges:

Total pages read: 352

Total # of books for the year: 9.  The Boyfriend and I celebrated Valentine’s Day on Saturday since he had to work on Sunday.  I made us a nice breakfast and then we went to look at an apartment that we’re planning on moving into next month.  After that, we got smoothies and headed to one of the many parks in Austin that has walking trails.  By the time we were done, we were ready for an early dinner at a little Cuban restaurant he found for me.  While I’m glad we went, I don’t plan on ever going back.  The food was only ok, and the highlight of our dinner was getting an ice cold can of Iron Beer, the Cuban take on root beer, and my favorite soda.  It was still barely evening, so we headed to the used bookstore to see if I could find a hardcover of Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery.  I found a hardcover of the first three books instead, which is even better IMO.  It was supposed to be my one book purchase this year, and we had already exchanged gifts (he got me a hardcover edition of Written in My Own Heart’s Blood by Diana Gabaldon, and I got him A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms by George R.R. Martin).  However, the Boyfriend bought it for me and told me to save my book money for something new <3  After that we headed home to eat lots of chocolate and watch Shrek.

My Top Commenter: Is Shaina from Shaina Reads.

What are you reading this week?

Take Control of Your TBR Pile Challenge

Published on by Rachelle4 Comments
Take Control of Your TBR Pile

The Take Control of Your TBR Pile Challenge is entering its fourth year, but this is the first year I’ll be participating.

The Rules:

For the entire month of March, read books in your TBR pile released before March 1, 2016. They can be eBooks, physical books, or audiobooks.

My Goals:

  • I will read nothing but physical books I already own.  That means no borrowed books, whether from the library, a friend, or the Boyfriend’s bookshelves.
  • I’ll update my progress in my weekly “Monday’s Minutes” posts, and write a final wrap-up post at the end of the month.
  • I’ll also write a review for every book I read.
  • I will participate in the 24-hour TBR Readathon on March 12th.
  • I will try to participate in the Twitter party on March 16th.

My TBR:

As you all know by now, I have an entire floor to ceiling bookcase full of books I’ve never read.  Thanks to the Boyfriend and giveaway winnings, I haven’t cleared out any space yet this year.  While I also haven’t run out of space again, that needs to change because we’re moving in March, and I’d love to have at least one box of books headed to the used bookstore before then.  While I don’t have any specific books I plan to read during the challenge, I do plan on attacking the paperbacks I’m pretty sure I won’t want to keep after I finish them.

Review: The Paris Winter

Published on by Rachelle

Paris Winter

  • Author: Imogen Robertson
  • ISBN: 9781250051837
  • Genre: Historical Fiction
  • Pages: 360

The above ISBN is for the hardcover edition, but I listened to the audiobook I purchased.

Maud Heighton came to Lafond’s famous Academie to paint, and to flee the constraints of her small English town. It took all her courage to escape, but Paris eats money. While her fellow students enjoy the dazzling joys of the Belle Époque, Maud slips into poverty. Quietly starving, and dreading another cold Paris winter, Maud takes a job as companion to young, beautiful Sylvie Morel. But Sylvie has a secret: an addiction to opium. As Maud is drawn into the Morels’ world of elegant luxury, their secrets become hers. Before the New Year arrives, a greater deception will plunge her into the darkness that waits beneath this glittering city of light. – Goodreads synopsis

I’m glad I listened to the audiobook instead of reading the book.  Otherwise, I probably wouldn’t have finished it.  I would have quit reading after fifty pages.  While the story was good, the first half of the book was like watching a turtle.  For that reason, I had difficulty paying attention to the story, and I probably missed a few details as it unfolded.

Once things picked up a bit, I enjoyed it, but because the first half was so dull, I wasn’t very invested in the main character, Maud.  If there were any book to compare this one to, it would be Villette by Charlotte Brontë, at least in style.  However, Villette was better, and I cared more about Lucy than I did Maud, despite Maud’s involvement in a more interesting plot (at least in the second half).

If the plot hadn’t taken so long to build, I would probably give The Paris Winter four stars.  However, because the first half was on the edge of completely boring, I can only give it three.  If you loved Villette, or you enjoy a modern take on the classic Gothic novel, I would recommend borrowing this one instead of buying.  If you insist on purchasing a copy, you might want to go with the audiobook, but regardless of the edition, just know that the story plods along for well over a hundred pages before it gets anywhere interesting.

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#FitReaders Check-In

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FitReaders2016
  • This check-in is for February 5th – 11th.
  • I didn’t meet any of my goals this week, so I’ll be trying for an average of 6K steps per day again.
  • I start my new full-time job on Tuesday, so I’ll have some adjusting to do to figure out how and when I can workout during the week.  It’s been awhile since I’ve had a regular full-time schedule, but hopefully having that sort of normal work week will allow me to get some regular exercise.
  • If you’d like to add me as a friend on FitBit, you can find me HERE.
  • Yoga Workouts: 0/5
  • Steps: 30,224/42,000
  • Miles: 12.41/17.5
  • Flights of stairs: 22/35
  • Active Minutes: 111/210
  • Monthly 5K Races Completed: 1/10
  • Monthly 1 Mile Fun “Runs” Completed: 1/10
  • Total Money Donated: $6.20/$100.00

Friday’s Fairy Tales: Blue Beard

Published on by Rachelle
Blue Beard - Plashing Vole
Image: Plashing Vole

Some believe that Blue Beard was a “woman’s story” about the risks of pregnancy and childbirth, or, alternatively, about the dangers of not following their instincts in regards to men, and therefore inherently Feminist.  My first experience with the tale and this opinion was in Clarissa Pinkola Estés’ book Women Who Run With the Wolves.  While it is true that Blue Beard was already a popular tale by the 17th century, and it’s possible that it was originally a “woman’s story”, Perrault’s version is based on the combination of two gruesome, and, unfortunately, true, stories.

The first one was about Conomor the Cursed, a Breton chief who it was predicted would be killed by his son.  To avoid the prophecy coming true, he murdered his wives as soon as they became pregnant.  That’s horrible enough, right?  Well, the second is a much more gruesome story, even when compared to Perrault’s tale, and is about Gilles de Rais, a wealthy nobleman who lived during the 15th century.

Gilles de Rais was Joan of Arc’s protector on the battlefield and considered a hero for helping to drive the English out of France during the Hundred Years’ War.  However, he also developed the reputation of practicing alchemy and black magic and being a pedophile and murderer of young boys after he left the military.  Supposedly, he earned the nickname “Bluebeard” from his horse’s fur, which appeared to be blue when seen in daylight, and the original folk tale was told as a way of deterring children from going onto his land.  During his trial, after the remains of fifty boys were discovered near his castle, he confessed to killing over 140 children and described in great detail how he preyed upon and tortured them.  He was burned alive while being hung at the same time.

Regardless of whether the story of Blue Beard is a Feminist tale or a story to frighten children away from an evil man, here are some modern retellings:

Thursday’s Things: Watch Out For Those Arrows

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heart-beating

  • Feminist-Friendly Romance Novels – I’m not much of a Romance fan, no matter how Feminist; however, if you’re looking for a love story or two to read this month, you may want to give some of these a try.
  • 13 Times Books Perfectly Described Heartbreak – If you’re like me, and Romance isn’t your thing, here’s an entirely different list of books.  Maybe you recently had your heart broken, or you’re so head over heels that you want to remind yourself that not everyone is so lucky.  Either way, the books on this list and the quotes that go with them are perfect.

Let Me Love You

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kisses

Wednesday’s Words: Wuv, Twue Wuv

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Princess Bride

My original plan was to share the few favorite “love” quotes from various books I have copied down in my book journal, but then I remembered that I’ve never written a “Wednesday’s Words” about The Princess Bride by William Goldman.  While these quotes aren’t all my favorites (there’s too many to list), they are my favorite love-related ones.

Kissing Book

“Is this a kissing book?”

You know me.  I’m not big on Romance.  When I get a book recommendation from someone who I know loves the kind of Fantasy that is more Romance than Adventure, this is the question, in the exact same tone, I want to ask.

true love

“This is true love — you think this happens every day?”

The confidence in this line is what gets me.  Every once in a while, the Boyfriend says something about our relationship with that kind of assuredness.  It makes me weak in the knees, and my stomach does that weird little flip thing.

Humperdink

“She loves you,” the Prince cried. “She loves you still and you love her, so think of that–think of this too: in all this world, you might have been happy, genuinely happy. Not one couple in a century has that chance, not really, no matter what the storybooks say, but you could have had it, and so, I would think, no one will ever suffer a loss as great as you.”

This quote reminds me of a scene in Gilmore Girls when Lorelai’s Father ends up in the hospital, and Emily demands that she gets to die before he does because she couldn’t handle losing him.  I don’t believe in soul mates, but I do believe in the kind of love that when one of a couple passes away, the other can’t go on living.

Best Kiss

“There have been five great kisses since 1642 B.C…(before then couples hooked thumbs.) And the precise rating of kisses is a terribly difficult thing, often leading to great controversy…. Well, this one left them all behind.”

Sometimes kissing books are ok 😉

As You Wish

“As you wish…”

*Sigh*

Tuesday’s Tunes: Literary Valentines

Published on by Rachelle2 Comments

It’s been several months since I last did a “Tuesday’s Tunes.”  Since this is the one month of the year when everyone is supposed to be sappy and romantic or the complete opposite, or celebrating Galentine’s, I’ve put together a playlist of love-related songs mentioned in books or on the soundtracks of movie adaptations.  The only exception is “Where You Lead”, the theme song to Gilmore Girls.  However, Rory was a true book addict, so I consider the song to be just as much a “Literary Valentine” as the others.  There’s something to listen to, no matter your feelings about Cupid, relationships, or those chalky heart-shaped candies.

Literary Valentines

Bonus Life Hack: If you’re a chocoholic like me, wait until the day after Valentine’s Day to hit the stores and stock up on enough clearance chocolate to last until Easter.