littlelotte (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
littlelotte) wrote2007-01-21 10:45 am
littlelotte) wrote2007-01-21 10:45 am
Entry tags:
January Books
Here's my "January" list...or at least most of it. I'm sure I'll finish one or two more before the month is over, but I'll be doing a library run today or tomorrow so I want to get these all down while I'm thinking about it.
Book #9
Coraline, 162 pages
by Neil Gaiman
Because I absolutely hated the Mirrormask movie, and because everyone keeps telling me I should read American Gods but the library didn't have it, I decided to give the author a chance. Coraline was an ultra-quick read (less than two hours and one sitting), and was rather cute. There is no way I would give this to my eight-year-old cousin (I gave her Peter Pan for Christmas last year), but I might a few years down the road if she gets into fairy tales at all ever. I will say that the first line is a really lovely hook, though: "Coraline discovered the door a little while after they moved into the house." I doubt I'd ever be interested in re-reading it (which is my idea of a truly wonderful fairy tale--one I can read over and over again), but I wasn't disappointed by it.
Book #10
The Arabian Nights, 139 pages
by Mary Zimmerman
This is, obviously, Mary Zimmerman's theatrical adaptation of Scheherezade and the 1000 nights and one night stories. I really enjoy the way she put the stories together. I don't think it's nearly as interesting nor as moving as her Metamorphoses was, but it was still very wonderful.
Book #11
Till We Have Faces, 313 pages
by C.S. Lewis
I love CS Lewis, and to hell with anybody who thinks he's too religious in his writing. If you want terrible religious writing by a fiction writer check out Madeline L'Engle's actual religious writing (I adore her actual fiction immensely). I had somebody tell me about three or four years ago that I needed to read this book, and I finally got my hands on it. It's certainly a lovely take on the Eros and Psyche story, and I love the way it's narrated. Sometimes taking the point of view of the "villain" of the story works, and sometimes it doesn't--here it worked brilliantly and made tremendous sense.
Book #12
Welsh Legendary Tales, 182 pages
told by Elisabeth Sheppard-Jones
A collection of 41 Welsh tales translated, tamed down, and told in a way that even children wouldn't be frightened by the tale of Blodeuedd and Llew. Kind of cute, interesting, and certainly short stories. Lots of morality lessons involving fairy folk, really.
Book #13
Garlic and Sapphires, 328 pages
by Ruth Reichl
This was an awesome book. Industry books always fascinate me, and this one even mixed in a touch of the theatrical! Ruth Reichl was the head restaurant critic for the NY Times for a handful of years. On her way to NYC for an apartment/preschool search months prior to her relocation from being the the LA Times head restaurant critic she learned that she was known--NYC restaurants had her photo up next to their daily specials boards, and some were even offering monetary rewards to anybody who spotted her and/or could tell them where she planned to eat. She realized that if she were going to be able to review these places honestly then she needed some pretty foolproof disguises. She enlisted the help of one of her mom's old friends (an acting coach), a makeup artist, and various vintage and wig shops to help with her transformations. The book was a really fantastic look at the dining side of NYC and the ultra-special treatment they aim to give restaurant critics. There are also some really great recipes scattered throughout the book, in addition to some of her reviews from her tenure at the NY Times. I really couldn't put this one down.
These next two I haven't completely finished, but I'll probably finish them tonight, so...
Book #14
Ancient Legends of Ireland, 126 pages
by Lady Wilde (Francesca Speranza Wilde)
This is very similar in style to the book of Welsh tales, though not so cutesy. Also, lots more "stolen by the fairy folk" types of stories. The storytelling is far better than that in the Welsh book, that's for certain, but the stories are about the same length (about three pages each) and are more to the tune of "This is how you trick the fairy folk after they've tricked you" rather than the "This is why you should be respectful of the fairy folk" tone of the Welsh set.
Book #15
The Odyssey, 165 pages
by Mary Zimmerman
Another Zimmerman Greek adaptation. Can I just say that this woman is an absolutely brilliant storyteller? Really! I would place this one in between Metamorphoses and Arabian Nights as my favorite adaptation of hers so far. It's not so much the complete journey of Odysseus, but rather starting around when Telemachus sailed off to Sparta and Odysseus leaves Calypso's island. The past bits come from him telling the story at the court of the Phaecians. It's really a very nice adaptation. Purists would be appalled (well, they would be at any of her adaptations), but it's really a great way to bring these stories to people who would never otherwise hear them, and for that I'm thrilled.
Book #9
Coraline, 162 pages
by Neil Gaiman
Because I absolutely hated the Mirrormask movie, and because everyone keeps telling me I should read American Gods but the library didn't have it, I decided to give the author a chance. Coraline was an ultra-quick read (less than two hours and one sitting), and was rather cute. There is no way I would give this to my eight-year-old cousin (I gave her Peter Pan for Christmas last year), but I might a few years down the road if she gets into fairy tales at all ever. I will say that the first line is a really lovely hook, though: "Coraline discovered the door a little while after they moved into the house." I doubt I'd ever be interested in re-reading it (which is my idea of a truly wonderful fairy tale--one I can read over and over again), but I wasn't disappointed by it.
Book #10
The Arabian Nights, 139 pages
by Mary Zimmerman
This is, obviously, Mary Zimmerman's theatrical adaptation of Scheherezade and the 1000 nights and one night stories. I really enjoy the way she put the stories together. I don't think it's nearly as interesting nor as moving as her Metamorphoses was, but it was still very wonderful.
Book #11
Till We Have Faces, 313 pages
by C.S. Lewis
I love CS Lewis, and to hell with anybody who thinks he's too religious in his writing. If you want terrible religious writing by a fiction writer check out Madeline L'Engle's actual religious writing (I adore her actual fiction immensely). I had somebody tell me about three or four years ago that I needed to read this book, and I finally got my hands on it. It's certainly a lovely take on the Eros and Psyche story, and I love the way it's narrated. Sometimes taking the point of view of the "villain" of the story works, and sometimes it doesn't--here it worked brilliantly and made tremendous sense.
Book #12
Welsh Legendary Tales, 182 pages
told by Elisabeth Sheppard-Jones
A collection of 41 Welsh tales translated, tamed down, and told in a way that even children wouldn't be frightened by the tale of Blodeuedd and Llew. Kind of cute, interesting, and certainly short stories. Lots of morality lessons involving fairy folk, really.
Book #13
Garlic and Sapphires, 328 pages
by Ruth Reichl
This was an awesome book. Industry books always fascinate me, and this one even mixed in a touch of the theatrical! Ruth Reichl was the head restaurant critic for the NY Times for a handful of years. On her way to NYC for an apartment/preschool search months prior to her relocation from being the the LA Times head restaurant critic she learned that she was known--NYC restaurants had her photo up next to their daily specials boards, and some were even offering monetary rewards to anybody who spotted her and/or could tell them where she planned to eat. She realized that if she were going to be able to review these places honestly then she needed some pretty foolproof disguises. She enlisted the help of one of her mom's old friends (an acting coach), a makeup artist, and various vintage and wig shops to help with her transformations. The book was a really fantastic look at the dining side of NYC and the ultra-special treatment they aim to give restaurant critics. There are also some really great recipes scattered throughout the book, in addition to some of her reviews from her tenure at the NY Times. I really couldn't put this one down.
These next two I haven't completely finished, but I'll probably finish them tonight, so...
Book #14
Ancient Legends of Ireland, 126 pages
by Lady Wilde (Francesca Speranza Wilde)
This is very similar in style to the book of Welsh tales, though not so cutesy. Also, lots more "stolen by the fairy folk" types of stories. The storytelling is far better than that in the Welsh book, that's for certain, but the stories are about the same length (about three pages each) and are more to the tune of "This is how you trick the fairy folk after they've tricked you" rather than the "This is why you should be respectful of the fairy folk" tone of the Welsh set.
Book #15
The Odyssey, 165 pages
by Mary Zimmerman
Another Zimmerman Greek adaptation. Can I just say that this woman is an absolutely brilliant storyteller? Really! I would place this one in between Metamorphoses and Arabian Nights as my favorite adaptation of hers so far. It's not so much the complete journey of Odysseus, but rather starting around when Telemachus sailed off to Sparta and Odysseus leaves Calypso's island. The past bits come from him telling the story at the court of the Phaecians. It's really a very nice adaptation. Purists would be appalled (well, they would be at any of her adaptations), but it's really a great way to bring these stories to people who would never otherwise hear them, and for that I'm thrilled.