Fire – Kristen Cashore April 22, 2010

When I read Kristen Cashore’s first book, Graceling, last year I was absolutely absorbed from the first page to the last and was left wanting to know more.  Graceling is relatively short for such an amazing story and I reached the end with a sense of “that’s it?”  So it was with much excitement that I finally picked up Fire, Cashore’s companion to Graceling.  Fire is also a kind of a prequel alluding to characters that will later enter the Graceling story.  I liked that Cashore didn’t immediately write a direct sequel or prequel to Graceling because it indicates that there is so much more than the story of Graceling in her mind.  As much as I loved Graceling, it is no epic and not nearly as complete of a fantasy as a series like Lord of the Rings or Eragon.  Fire lets her readers know that Cashore is just getting started at that there are many more books to come from this budding author.  I am very excited to see where she takes the series from here.

While i enjoyed reading Fire and finished it in under two days, I didn’t put it down with the same reluctance I felt with Graceling.  I enjoyed that once again, Cashore’s protagonist was a strong, independently minded woman but found the story a bit more predictable than Graceling (especially the whole back story with Fire’s father).  That said, I will definitely be buying Cashore’s next book (and the next one, and the next one) because her stories are so well told and her characters so tangible.  She also leaves out a lot of the wordiness of many fantasy writers that seem to be a little too absorbed in their fantasy world and tend to forget their story line along the way.  On the whole, if you are a dork like I am and enjoy fantasy books, you will enjoy both Fire and Graceling.  I’ll be sure to post when I hear about the release date for her next book (also check out Cashore’s blog here).

Harry in Real Life April 20, 2010

I wanted to write a post about various places in the UK that I have visited in the last month pertaining to Harry Potter (yes, there are a surprising number of “real life” places that have to do with the series).  For those of us that sincerely wish the books were real, here are my personal favorite places to pretend….  The locations vary from London to Oxford to Edinburgh.

1. The forbidden forest – the forbidden forest was shot somewhere on our bus tour to Oxford.  I’m not sure of the name of the town just that our tour guide said that the scenes from the movie were filmed there as we drove by.  Obviously I took a picture.

From Harry Potter

2. Elephant House Cafe in Edinburgh – Kathleen and I had such a good time at this little cafe a few blocks from the flat we rented on our recent trip to Edinburgh.  I had been wanting to visit for awhile, and not only was it fun to see where JK Rowling penned most of the Potter novels, but it was also a delicious place for lunch, tea and millionaire shortbread 🙂

From Harry Potter

From Harry Potter

One of my favorite parts of the cafe was the magnificent view of the castle. It is definitely not hard to guess where Rowling got her inspiration for Hogwarts.

From Harry Potter

3. Platforms 9 3/4 at Kings Cross in London.  I finally saw this for the first time on my way back from Edinburgh.  I didn’t realize that the jolly good chaps at the train station had a good enough sense of humor to actually install this into Kings Cross Station but there it was.  Most hilarious part (which was sadly not captured in my blurry picture) is that there is a trolley half stuck into the brick wall like someone was passing through and got stuck.

From Harry Potter

4. The lightening shaped builders mark in Oxford. One of my favorite stories from our bus trip to Windsor Castle, Stonehenge and Oxford (which I highly recommend as a day trip from London!).  Apparently Rowling wrote the entire first book without knowing what shape of scar she would give Harry.  She knew he would have a scar from his encounter with Voldemort, just not what shape it would be.  One day, while in Oxford, she saw the below carved into one of the streets.  It is actually just an old builders mark but now it has become so much more.

From Harry Potter

Rowling Admits To Wanting To Write More Harry Potter Books April 8, 2010

Rowling reads from one of her books at the Easter Egg Roll. (Charles Dharapak/associated Press)

Last weekend at the famed White House Easter egg hunt, J.K. Rowling was present to read out loud to the kids there (lucky kids). While there, she told her audience that she is planning to write more books in the near future (probably not about Harry) and would be open to continuing the Harry Potter series possibly 10 years from now.  I can’t decide how I feel about this as I think the Harry Potter series is absolutely perfect as is.  Without Voldemort as the main antagonist, I think Rowling would undermine the central premise of the series, good versus evil.  Also, a new villain could never be as evil as Voldemort so I don’t see how Rowling could continue to give the series the same weight.  That said, Rowling is a creative genius and should she decide to write more books about Harry, I will faithfully read them despite the fact that I will be in my mid-30s by the time that happens.

As a side note, I am headed to Edinburgh this weekend where I will be visiting The Elephant House. I CAN’T WAIT.

Dead And Gone – Charlaine Harris April 5, 2010

Dead and Gone is Harris’s most recent addition to the Sookie Stackhouse series with the next novel being released in May 2010.  As usual, Harris doesn’t disappoint.  Before starting the Sookie Stackhouse series (the basis for HBO’s True Blood) Harris was a mystery writer, one of my favorite genres, and this shows in the series.  Each book, while focusing on Sookie, includes a complex murder mystery and stays true to the whodunit plot line.  I read two books from Harris’s other series (Lily Bard and Harper Connelly) and did not enjoy them nearly as much as I enjoy the Sookie Stackhouse series.  Sookie is an instantly likable character, down to earth, realistic and friendly and is much more complex and better developed throughout the series than either of Harris’s other heroines.  Harris’s mastery of the small town Louisiana culture is also excellent and her development of the various backwater characters is complex and interesting.

Dead and Gone once again develops several plot lines that all revolve around one larger mystery, keeping the reader on the edge of his or her seat.  I can’t wait to read the next book in the series!  For those who haven’t read any Sookie Stackhouse novels, I would recommend starting with the first novel, Dead until Dark, and continuing through the series as each book builds on the overarching plot line of the series while also developing a new mystery.

This book also further illustrates the theme of Harris’s other novels, race relations and prejudice.  Focusing on the weres coming out and the reactions to this revelation, the small town of Bon Temps is once again less than ecstatic about those that are different living amongst them.  The strains on the relations between the various factions (vampires, werewolves and humans) shows Harris has a much more complex understanding of southern culture and that the books are about more than just fantasy and murder.

Then We Came To The End – Joshua Ferris

Then We Came To The End by Joshua Ferris is a laugh out loud funny portrayal of modern day work culture and is a perfect mix The Office, Office Space and Catch-22.  Focusing on the awkward relationships we form at work and how our working lives define us, Ferris writes a witty, tongue-in-cheek tale of life in a white-collar office.  For anyone that has worked in an office, Ferris’ portrayal is spot on and hilarious.  Told from the first person plural perspective (i.e. “we”),  the reader feels like he/she is part of the story and in suspense over who will be the next one to walk Spanish (Ferris’ term for getting fired) and what Benny will do with his totem pole. Ferris refers to any specifics about the company vaguely and thus makes the office all encompassing.  Though the story takes place in Chicago, the office could be in any city, in any office building in the US, another way he draws the reader into the story.

Ferris tells the middle 1/3 of the story from a specific character’s perspective which personalizes the story and reminds us that though people’s “office personalities” may obscure their real lives from our view, we may not know them as well as we think.  When we only see someone in an office context, we tend to forget that everyone has a life outside of work (no matter how pathetic that life may be).  And when the chips are down, our jobs does not define us and will not hold our hands through the tough times.  It remind us all not to get too caught up in our working lives lest we forget our passions and what matters most, families and friends.

Then We Came To The End was a touching and funny read that reminds us not to take our jobs too seriously, not to get too caught up in office gossip no matter how harmless it seems and to keep your perspective on life when the office seems to be all there is.  Can’t wait to read Ferris’s next book (currently being written) and also to take his advice on a few book suggestions he throws in at the end of the book, namely Americana by Don DeLillo, which is where Ferris got the name for Then We Came To The End.