The Aroma of Books

(via librarylydia)

So apparently this book is now a movie, but I missed the whole thing, so this review has nothing whatsoever to do with this movie (if it exists).

With that out of the way, this modern retelling of Beauty & the Beast really wasn’t that bad.  It was even semi-plausible (if you believe in, you know, witches and curses and magic).  But my huge annoyance with this story was the same old annoyance that comes with most tales of this type: THESE PEOPLE ARE SIXTEEN YEARS OLD.  Even having this kid be a SENIOR in high school would have been an improvement.  But changing a sixteen-year-old teenager into a beast and then telling him that he has two years to find true love in order to break his curse is just ridiculous.  (I know, I know, it’s a FAIRY TALE, but still.)  In this supposedly modern story, you can’t even give me the old “Well people used to get married when they were thirteen” line (which also annoys me, because when thirteen-year-olds used to get married, they did it so their family could get a cow and so they could start producing babies fast before they died of some terrible disease, NOT because they were in love).

Point being, I didn’t appreciate the way that this kid was so casual about sex (not graphically so, but still happening in his pre-beast days, and still wanting it in his beast days) as, again a SIXTEEN YEAR OLD (not saying sixteen-year-olds aren’t having sex, but is that really a cultural trend we’re wanting to encourage in our literature???) and then when he breaks the curse everyone is like, “Oh, of course you’ve found your true love and now you can take her to the senior prom and pledge your undying love and it’s obvious that you’re going to live happily ever after even though you come from completely different backgrounds and have no idea what you’re doing with your life and no real plans and you’re actually just children, but okay, cool…”

Okay, rant over.  Like I said, decent book, but not one that I would particularly read again.  I actually checked out another of Flinn’s books (Cloaked) at the same time, and am not sure if I’m going to bother reading it or not, because this one just didn’t strike that inner chord of my soul.

3.

I really can’t tell you much about this story without giving it all away.  This is a great murder mystery.  However, I am confused, because Poirot was in the thick of it when we last saw him, and now he is suddenly retired to the country and Hastings is off in Argentina.  Part of the reason I’m reading Christie’s novels in their published order is in an attempt to see the progression of Poirot’s life, but apparently she skipped around anyway, lol.

Ennywho, I remembered ‘whodunit’ but couldn’t remember how it all came together, making this a great read.  (As usual, my poor memory is awesome when it comes to rereading mysteries!)

4.

The next of the Black Stallion tales really has nothing to do with the Black, or Alec, at all.  In this story, we follow the birth and beginnings of one of the Black’s colts.  Bonfire is raised and trained as a harness racer.  But somehow, the story isn’t about Bonfire as much as it is about his people: Jimmy Creech, the old and cranky sulky driver, and Tom, the boy who helps train and race Bonfire.  The story is also a lot about the heritage of harness racing, and swift modernization of old time traditions.

The Blood Bay Colt reads as an independent story, and I actually really enjoyed it, and the life lessons it had to share.

3.

This is the first Robin McKinley book I ever read, and is still my favorite.  I am not even going to attempt to describe this book… much.  Basically, it’s perfect.  There are no villains, and yet the tale is gripping.

Actually, my only beef with this book is that it ends…

5.

My favorite Agatha Christie novels are her spy/war stories.  I think it’s because, in that context, I’m kind of okay with someone dying a violent death.  I mean, it’s part of the risk you take when you decide to become a spy, right??  Stories where people are just killing off rich relatives or annoying spouses are a little creepy.

Anyway, with that said, I somehow had never read The Secret of Chimneys before, and it was fantastic!  The characters were delightful and the story loads of fun.  Definitely recommend this book.  4.  

I love this book.

It had been several years since I last read it, and I had just forgotten how much I love it.  Books like that are old friends.  When you run into them again, everything picks up right where it left off, all the memories of times past spent together come rushing back.

This particular copy, a battered little paperback, I can remember reading all sorts of different places.  ::happy sigh::

Anyway.  The Velvet Room is set during the Great Depression.  Robin and her family end up working on a fruit farm.  While living there, Robin explores a beautiful old mansion, meets up with a wise elderly woman, has many adventures, and learns that people are more important than things, and that family is the most important “people” of all: you are born belonging together, and that is a precious and beautiful thing.

This book involves an amazing library and a secret room as well and there is nothing to not like about that.

I really can’t express how much I love this book.  You should go read it today.  5.

This is a children’s book, not very long, with lots of photographs, and thus was a quick read.  However, it is really informative and interesting.

In some ways, I think that the Great Depression is a bit romanticized.  Sure, people were poor, people lost their jobs and homes, but everyone really came together and helped each other so it was kind of a good thing.

Except not.

The immigrants to California from the Dust Bowl states were treated dreadfully by the locals.  They were regarded as disposable trash, shunted into shanty villages, paid ridiculously low wages, denied basic housing and medical needs.  Their children were mocked and tormented at school.

This book looks at how one man was willing to stand up and make a difference.  He built, from virtually nothing, a trade school for the children of one of the refugee camps.  This school was so successful that within a few years, the original Californians were trying to get their children into the school.

What really fascinated me about this book was the school itself.  While it taught the basics of formal education, it really focused on turning these children into self-respecting, productive citizens.  They raised their own produce and livestock and sold the extras to earn the money needed to keep the school going.  The school was entirely self-supporting after only a couple of years.  The children were taught the basics of several trades: carpentry, welding, electricity, mechanics, etc.  They learned how to care for a home, how to cook nutritious meals, how to save and wisely spend money.  In short, they were taught things actually useful for life, and the majority of the students went on to become successful individuals.

As I was reading this book, I just kept coming back to the idea that this is the model that our inner-city schools should be using.  Children caught in the dreadful cycle of poverty, substance abuse, teen pregnancies, etc. are in a large part caught because they lack self-respect, confidence, and actual training that can earn them a place in society.

So yes.  I liked this book, and think that everyone interested in education should read it.

This story is everything that a happy, romantic, girly book should be.  It’s a nice story, sexual tension is not the main plot line, and everything ends well.  The characters are believable and likable.  I’ve read some of Denise Hunter’s other books as well, and I appreciate the way that she addresses issues somewhat deeper than just hoping everyone ends up with the right romantic interest in the end.

The Convenient Groom looks at the idea of what really makes a “perfect” match for marriage, and her conclusion of love, commitment, and selflessness, is spot-on.  Hunter is a Christian, but her characters are not overly religious, just quietly faithful.

If you’re looking for a rainy Sunday afternoon warm-and-happy read, I would recommend this one.  4.

This book is one of my own, purchased a book sale many years ago.  It’s a short children’s story, only 30 or so pages long.  A simple tale about a collie who outgrows his puppyish ways to become a hero in a time of crisis on his farm.

Happy story, well-told, with delightful illustrations by Leonard Shortall, it’s a classic tale from its era.